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NC STATE UNIVERSmO.H HILL LIBRARY

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DATE

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HANDBOOK OF

NATURE-STUDY

For Teachers and Parents

Based on the Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets, with Much
Additional Material and Many New Illustrations

By ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK, B. S.

Lecturer in Nature-Study in Cornell University; Author of How to Keep Bees, and Ways

of the Six-Footed; Illustrator and Engraver for Manual for the

Study of Insects and for Insect Life

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOL. I

INCLUDING PARTS I AND II

ITHACA, N. Y.

COMSTOCK PUBLISHING COMPANY

1912

Press of W. F. Humphrey
Geneva, N. Y.

LIBERTY HYDE BAILEY

UNDER WHOSE WISE, STAUNCH AND INSPIRING LEADERSHIP THE

NATURE-STUDY WORK AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY

HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED

AND TO MY CO-WORKER

JOHN WALTON SPENCER

WHOSE COURAGE, RESOURCEFULNESS AND UNTIRING ZEAL

WERE POTENT FACTORS IN THE SUCCESS

OF THE CAUSE

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED

1968t

PREFACE

The Cornell University Nature-Study propaganda was essentially an
agricultural movement in its inception and its aims ; it was inaugurated as
a direct aid to better methods of agriculture in New York State. During
the years of agricultural depression 1891-1893, the Charities of New York
City found it necessary to help many people who had come from the rural
districts — a condition hitherto unknown. The philanthropists managing
the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor asked,
"What is the matter with the land of New York State that it cannot
support its own population?" A conference was caUed to consider the
situation to which many people from different parts of the State were
invited; among them was the author of this book, who little realized that
in attending that meeting the whole trend of her activities would be thereby
changed. Mr. George T. Powell, who had been a most efficient Director
of Farmers' Institutes of New York State was invited to the conference as
an expert to explain conditions and give advice as to remedies. The
situation seemed so serious that a Committee for the Promotion of Agricul-
ture in New York State was appointed. Of this committee the Honorable
Abram S. Hewitt was Chairman, Mr. R. Fulton Cutting, Treasurer, Mr.
Wm. H. Tolman, Secretary. The other members were Walter L. Suydam,
Wm. E. Dodge, Jacob H. Schiff, George T. Powell, G. Howard Davidson,
Howard Townsend, Professor I. P. Roberts, C. McNamee, Mrs. J. R.
Lowell, and Mrs. A. B. Comstock. Mr. George T. Powell was made
Director of the Department of Agricultural Education.

At the first meeting of this committee Mr. Powell made a strong plea
for interesting the children of the country in farming as a remedial measure,
and maintained that the first step toward agriculture was nature-study.
It had been Mr. Powell's custom to give simple agricultural and nature-
study instruction to the school children of every town where he was con-
ducting a fanners' institute, and his opinion was, therefore, based upon
experience. The committee desired to see for itself the value of this idea,
and experimental work was suggested, using the schools of Westchester
County as a laboratory. Mr. R. Fulton Cutting generously furnished the
funds for this experiment, and work was done that year in the Westchester
schools, which satisfied the committee of the soundness of the project.

The committee naturally concluded that such a fundamental mo\'cment
must be a public rather than a private enterprise ; and Mr. Frederick Nixon
then Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the Assembly,
was invited to meet with the committee at Mr. Hewitt's home. Mr.
Nixon had been from the beginning of his public career deeply interested
in improving the farming conditions of the State. In 1894, it was through

Handbook of Naiure-Siudy

his influence and the support given him by the Chautauqua Horticultural
Society under the leadership of Mr. John W. Spencer, that an appropriation
had been given to Cornell University for promoting the horticultural inter-
ests of the western counties of the State. In addition to other work done
through this appropriation, horticultural schools were conducted under
the direction of Professor L. H. Bailey with the aid of other Cornell
instructors and especially of Mr. E. G. Lodeman ; these schools had proved
to be most useful and were well attended. Therefore, Mr. Nixon was open-
minded toward an educational movement. He Hstened to the plan of the
committee and after due consideration declared that if this new measure
would surely help the farmers of the State, the money would be forth-
coming. The committee unanimously decided that if an appropriation
were made for this purpose it should be given to the Cornell College of
Agriculture; and that year eight thousand dollars was added to the Cornell
University Fund, for Extension Teaching and inaugurating this work. The
work was begun under Professor LP. Roberts; after one year Professor
Roberts placed it under the supervision of Professor L. H. Bailey, who for
the fifteen years since has been the inspiring leader of the movement, as well
as the official head.

In 1896, Mr. John W. Spencer, a fruit grower in Chautauqua County,

became identified with the enterprise; he had lived in niral communities

and he knew their needs. He it was who first saw clearly that the first step

in the great work was to help the teacher through simply written leaflets;

and later he originated the great plan of organizing the children in the

schools of the State into Junior NaturaHsts Clubs, which developed a

remarkable phase of the movement. The members of these clubs paid

their dues by writing letters about their nature observations to Mr. Spencer,

who speedily became their beloved "Uncle John;" a button and charter

were given for continued and earnest work. Some years, 30,000 children

were thus brought into direct communication with Cornell University

through Mr. Spencer. A monthly leaflet for Junior Naturalists followed;

and it was to help in this enterprise that Miss Alice G. McCloskey, the able

Editor of the present Rural School Leaflet, was brought into the work.

Later, Mr. Spencer organized the children's garden movement by forming

the children of the State into junior gardeners; at one time he had 25,000

school pupils working in gardens and reporting to him.

In 1899, Mrs.; Mary Rogers Miller, who had proven a most efficient
teacher when representing Cornell nature-study in the State Teachers'
Institutes, planned and started the Home Nature-Study Course Leaflets
for the purpose of helping the teachers by correspondence, a work which
fell to the author in 1 903 when Mrs. Miller was called to other fields.

For the many years during which New York State has intrusted this
important work to Cornell University, the teaching of nature-study has

Preface VII

gone steadily on in the University, in teachers' institutes, in State summer
schools, through various publications and in correspondence courses.
Many have assisted in this work, notably Dr. W. C. Thro, Dr. A. A. Allen,
and Miss Ada Georgia. The New York Education Department with
Charles R. Skinner as Commissioner of Education and Dr. Isaac Stout as
the Director of Teachers' Institutes co-operated heartily with the move-
ment from the first. Later with the co-operation of Dr. Andrew Draper, as
Commissioner of Education, many of the Cornell leaflets have been written
with the special purpose of aiding in carrying out the New York State
Syllabus in Nature-Study and Agriculture.

The leaflets upon which this volume is based were published in the
Home Nature-Study Course during the years 1 903-191 1, in limited editions
and were soon out of print. It is to make these lessons available to the
general public that this volume has been compiled. While the subject
matter of the lessons herein given is essentially the same as in the leaflets,
the lessons have all been rewritten for the sake of consistency, and many
new lessons have been added to bridge gaps and make a coherent whole.

Because the lessons were written during a period of so many years, each
lesson has been prepared as if it were the only one, and without reference to
others. If there is any uniformity of plan in the lessons, it is due to the
inherent qualities of the subjects, and not to a type plan in the mind of the
writer; for, in her opinion, each subject should be treated individually in
nature-study ; and in her long experience as a nature-study teacher she has
never been able to give a lesson twice ahke on a certain topic or secure
exactly the same results twice in succession. It should also be stated that
it is not because the author undervalues physics nature-study that it has
been left out of these lessons, but because her own work has been always
along biological lines.

The reason why nature-study has not yet accomplished its mission, as
thought-core for much of the required work in our public schools, is that
the teachers are as a whole untrained in the subject. The children are
eager for it, unless it is spoiled in the teaching; and whenever we find a
teacher with an understanding of out-of-door life and a love for it, there we
find nature-study in the school is an inspiration and a joy to pupils and
teacher. It is because of the author's sympathy with the untrained teacher
and her full comprehension of her difficulties and helplessness that this book
has been written. These difficulties are chiefly three-fold: The teacher
does not know what there is to see in studying a plant or animal ; she knows
little of the Hterature that might help her; and because she knows so little
of the subject, she has no interest in giving a lesson about it. As a matter
of fact, the Hterature concerning our common animals and plants is so
scattered that a teacher would need a large library and almost unHmited
time to prepare lessons for an extended nature-study course.

VIII Handbook of Nature-Study

The writer's special work for fifteen years in Extension teaching has been
the helping of the untrained teacher through personal instruction and
through leaflets. Many methods were tried and finally there was evolved
the method followed in this volume : All the facts available and pertinent
concerning each topic have been assembled in the "Teacher's story" to make
her acquainted with the subject; this is followed by an outline for observa-
tion on the part of the pupils while studying the object. It would seem
that with the teacher's story before the eyes of the teacher, and the subject
of the lesson before the eyes of the pupils with a number of questions leading
them to see the essential characteristics of the object, there should result a
wider knowledge of nature than is given in this or any other book.

That the lessons are given in a very informal manner, and that the style
of writing is often colloquial, result from the fact that the leaflets upon
which the book is based were written for a correspondence course in which
the communications were naturally informal and chatty. That the book
is meant for those untrained in science accounts for the rather loose termin-
ology employed; as, for instance, the use of the word seed in the popular
sense whether it be a drupe, an akene, or other form of fruit; or the use of
the word pod for almost any seed envelope, and many Hke instances. Also,
it is very Hkely, that in teaching quite incidentally the rudiments of the
principles of evolution, the results may often seem to be confused with an
idea of purpose, which is quite unscientific. But let the critic labor for
fifteen years to interest the untrained adult mind in nature's ways, before he
casts any stones ! And it should be always borne in mind that if the author
has not dipped deep in the wells of science, she has used only a child's cup.
For many years requests have been frequent from parents who have
wished to give their children nature interests during vacations in the coun-
try. They have been borne in mind in planning this volume; the lessons
are especially fitted for field work, even though schoolroom methods are
so often suggested.

The author feels apologetic that the book is so large. However, it does
not contain more than any intelligent country child of twelve should know
of his environment; things that he should know naturally and without
effort, although it might take him half his hfe-time to learn so much if he
should not begin before the age of twenty. That there are inconsistencies,
inaccuracies, and even blunders in the volume is quite inevitable. The
only excuse to be offered is that, if through its use, the children of our land
learn early to read nature's truths with their own eyes, it will matter little
to them what is written in books.

The author wishes to make grateful acknowledgment to the following
people: To Professor Wilford M. Wilson for his chapter on the weather;
to Miss Mary E. Hill for the lessons on mould, bacteria, the minerals, and
reading the weather maps; to Miss Catherine Straith for the lessons on

Preface IX

the earthworm and the soil; to Miss Ada Georgia for much valuable
assistance in preparing the original leaflets on which these lessons are based;
to Dean L. H. Bailey and to Dr. David S. Jordan for permission to quote
their writings; to Mr. John W. Spencer for the use of his story on the
movements of the sun; to Dr. Grove Karl Gilbert, Dr. A. C. Gill, Dr.
Benjamin Duggar, Professor S. H. Gage and Dr. J. G. Needham for
reading and criticizing parts of the manuscript ; to Miss Eliza Tonks for
reading the proof ; to the Director of the College of Agriculture for use of
the engravings made for the original leaflets; to Miss Martha Van Rens-
selaer for the use of many pictures from Boys and Girls; to Professor
Cyrus Crosby, and to Messrs. J. T. Lloyd, A. A. Allen and R. Matheson
for the use of their personal photographs; to the U. S. Geological Survey
and the U. S. Forest Service for the use of photographs; to Louis A.
Fuertes for drawings of birds ; to Houghton, Mifflin & Company for the
use of the poems of Lowell, Harte and Larcom, and various extracts from
Burroughs and Thoreau; to Small, Maynard & Company and to John
Lane & Company for the use of poems of John T. Babb; to Doubleday,
Page & Company for the use of pictures of birds and flowers ; and to the
American Book Company for the use of electrotypes of dragon-flies and
astronomy. Especially thanks are extended to Miss Anna C. Stryke for
numerous drawings, including most of the initials

iiimimimimiiiiiiii* iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininilfimiTniiiTi ihiirtitifiiTiTiinnrii i " mitfi iitrtiUfrTiiiiHiinni'irffiii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I
The Teaching of Nature-Study

Page

What Nature-Study is ^

What Nature-Study Should do for the Child i

Nature-Study as a Help to Health 2

What Nature-Study Should do for the Teacher 2

When and Why the Teacher Should say "I do not know!" 3

Nature-Study, The EUxir of Youth 4

Nature-Study as a Help in School Discipline 4

The Relation of Nature-Study to Science 5

Nature-Study not for Drill ^

The Child not Interested in Nature-Study 6

When to Give the Lesson

The Length of the Lesson 7

The Nature-Study Lesson Always New 7

Nature-Study and Object Lessens 7

Nature-Study in the Schoolroom

Nature-Study and Museum Specimens

The Lens, Microscope and Field-glass as Helps 9

Use of Pictures, Charts and Blackboard Drawings 10

The Use of Scientific Names ^°

The Story as a Supplement to the Nature-Study Lesson 10

The Nature-Study Attitude toward Life and Death 1 1

Should the Nature-Study Teacher Teach How to Destroy Life? I3

The Field Note-book "3

The Field Excursion ^^

Pets as Nature-Study Subjects ^5

The Correlation of Nature-Study with Language Work 16

The Correlation of Nature-Study with Drawing ^7

The Correlation of Nature-Study with Geography ^8

The Correlation of Nature-Study with History ^^

The Correlation of Nature-Study with Arithmetic ^9

Gardening and Nature-Study

Nature-Study and Agriculture

Nature-Study Clubs

How to Use this Book

PART II
Animal Life

20
21
22

I Bird Study
Beginning Bird Study in the Primary Grades 25

Feathers as Clothing

30
Feathers as Ornament

How Birds Fly ^^

Eyes and Ears of Birds

XII

Handbook of Nature-Study

Page

The Form and Use of Beaks 37

The Feet of Birds 39

Chicken Ways 4i

Pigeons 45

The Canary and the Goldfinch 49

The Robin 54

TheBhiebird 6o

The White-breasted Nuthatch 63

The Chickadee 66

The Downy Woodpecker 69

The Sapsucker 73

The Redheaded Woodpecker 75

The FHcker or Yellow-hammer 77

The Meadowlark 80

The English Sparrow 84

The Chipping Sparrow 88

The Song Sparrow 9^

The Mockingbird 94

The Catbird 98

The Belted Kingfisher loi

The Screech Owl '• 104

The Red Shouldered and Red Tailed Hawks 108

The Swallows and the Chimney Swift ■ ■ • ■ 112

The Hummingbird 120

The Red-winged Blackbird 122

The Baltimore Oriole 125

The Crow 129

The Cardinal Grosbeak ^33

Geese ^3^

The Turkey 143

The Study of Birds' Nests in Winter i47

11 Fish Study

The Goldfish I49

The Bullhead I54

The Common Sucker 158

The Shiner ■ • 161

Brook Trout 164

The Stickleback 168

The Sunfish 172

The Johnny Darter I77

/// Batrachian Study

The Common Toad 181

The Tadpole Aquarium 185

The Tree-frog or Tree-toad 190

The Frog i93

The Newt, Eft or Salamander I97

IV Reptile Study

The Garter or Garden Snake 201

The Milk Snake, or Spotted Adder 204

Table of Contents xiii

Page

The Water Snake 206

The Turtle io8

V Mammal Study

The Cotton-tail Rabbit 213

The Muskrat 218

The House Mouse 224

The Woodchuck 229

The Red Squirrel or Chickaree 233

Furry 238

The Chipmunk 240

The Little Brown Bat 243

The Skunk 247

The Raccoon 250

The Wolf 255

The Fox 257

Dogs 261

The Cat 268

The Goat 275

The Sheep 281

The Horse 286

Cattle 295

The Pig 303

VI Insect Study

The Life History of Insects 308

The Structure of Insects 312

The Black Swallow-tail Butterfly 3i5

The Monarch Butterfly 320

The Isabella Tiger Moth of Woolly Bear . 326

The Cecropia 330

The Promethea 336

The Hummingbird, or Sphinx, Moths 340

The Codling Moth 347

Leaf-miners 352

The Leaf-rollers 357

The Gall-dwellers 360

The Grasshopper 3^5

The Katydid 370

The Black Cricket 373

The Snowy Tree-cricket 377

The Cockroach 37^

How to Make an Aquarium for Insects 380

The Dragon-flies and Damsel-flies 3^2

The Caddis- worms and the Caddis-flies 3*^7

The Aphids or Plant Lice 392

The Ant-lion 395

Mother Lace- wing and the Aphis-lion 397

The Mosquito 400

The House-fly 405

The Colorado Potato-beetle 409

XIV Handbook of Nature-Sttidy

Page

The Ladybird 413

The Firefly 416

The Ways of the Ant 419

How to Make a Lubbock Ant-Nest 423

The Ant-Nest and What May be Seen Within it 425

The Mud-dauber 429

The Yellow-jacket 432

The Leaf -cutter Bee 436

The Little Carpenter Bee 439

The Bumblebee 442

The Honey-bee 445

The Honey-comb 451

Industries of the Hive and the Observation Hive 453

VII Other Invertebrate-A nimal Sttidy

The Garden Snail 458

The Earthworm 462

The Crayfish ■ 466

Daddy Longlegs, or Grandfather Greybeard 472

Spiders 475

The Funnel-web 477

The Orb-web 478

The Filmy Dome 483

Ballooning Spiders 484

The White Crab-Spider 485

How the Spider Mothers Take Care of their Young 487

PART HI

Plant Life

How to Begin the Study of Plants and Flowers 489

How to Make Plants Comfortable 490

How to Teach the Names of the Parts of a Flower 492

Teach the Use of a Flower 493

Flowers and Insect Partners 494

The Relation of Plants to Geography 495

Seed Germination 495

I Wild-flower Study

The Hepatica 496

The Yellow Adder's Tongue 499

Bloodroot : 503

The Trillium 506

Dutchman's Breeches and Squirrel Corn 509

Jack-in-the-Pulpit 512

The Violet 515

The May Apple or Mandrake 519

The Bluets 523

The Yellow Lady's Slipper, or Moccasin Flower 525

The Common Buttercup 528

The Evening Primrose 530

Table of Contents xv

Page

The Hedge Bindweed 535

The Dodder 538

The Milkweed 540

The White Water Lily 545

Pondweed 54^

The Cat-tail 55i

A Type Lesson for a Composite Flower 554

The Goldenrod 555

The Asters 558

The White Daisy 56o

The Yellow Daisy or Black-eyed Susan 562

The Thistle 5^3

The Burdock 566

Prickly Lettuce, A Compass Plant 570

The Dandelion 572

The Pearly Everlasting 576

The Jewel weed, or Touch-me-not 578

Mullein 582

The Teasel 586

Queen Anne's Lace, or Wild Carrot 589

Weeds 594

Outline for the Study of a Weed 595

// Cultivated-Plant Study

The Crocus 596

Daffodils and their Relatives 599

The Tulip 603

The Pansy 607

The Bleeding Heart 611

Poppies 613

The California Poppy 616

The Nasturtium 620

The Bee-Larkspur 623

The Blue Flag, or Iris 626

The Sunflower 631

The Bachelor's Button 636

The Salvia or Scarlet Sage "37

Petunias ^"^^

The Horseshoe Geranium "43

The Sweet Pea ^-+9

The Clovers ^^^

Sweet Clover ^55

The White Clover ^58

Maize, or Indian Corn ""^

The Cotton Plant ^^^

The Strawberry 72

The Pumpkin ^75

/// Flowerless-Plant Study

The Christmas Fern ^^4

The Bracken ^^9

How a Fern Bud Unfolds ^91

XVI Handbook of Nature-Study

Page

The Fruiting of the Fern 693

The Field Horsetail 699

The Hair-cap Tvloss, or Pigeon Wheat 702

Mushrooms and other Fungi 7o6

Puffballs 712

The Bracket Fungi 7i4

Hedgehog Fungi 7^7

The Scarlet Saucer 7^8

The Morels 7^9

The Stinkhorns 720

Molds 720

Bacteria 723

IV Tree Study

How a Tree Grows 726

How to Begin Tree Study 73i

How to Make Leaf Prints 734

The Maples 736

The American Elm 745

TheOak 748

The Shagbark Hickory 755

The Chestnut 757

The Horse-Chestnut 76i

The Willows 765

The Cottonwood or Carolina Poplar 770

The White Ash 774

TheAppleTree 778

How an Apple Grows 782

The Apple 785

The Pine 789

The Norway Spruce 796

The Hemlock 801

The Flowering Dogwood 803

The Staghorn Sumac 806

The Witch-Hazel 810

The Mountain Laurel ^^3

PART IV

Earth and Sky

The Brook ^^^

How a Brook Drops its Load 822

Crystal Growth 825

Salt 827

How to Study Minerals 828

Quartz ' 829

Feldspar ^3i

Mica ^32

Granite ^33

Calcite, marble and Limestone 835

The Magnet ^38

The Soil ^42

Table of Contents xvii

Page

Water Forms 850

The Weather 857

Experiments to Show Air Pressure 877

The Barometer 878

How to read Weather Maps 879

The Story of the Stars 887

How to Begin Star Study 889

Cassiopeia's Chair, Cepheus and the Dragon 893

The Winter Stars 895

Orion 895

Aldebaran and the Pleiades 897

The Two Dog-Stars, Sirius and Procyon 898

Capella and the Heavenly Twins 900

The Stars of Summer 901

The Sun 9o5

The Relation between the Tropic of Cancer and the Planting of the Garden 909

The Zodiac and its Signs 911

The Relations of the Sun to the Earth 913

How to Make a Sun-dial 9^5

The Moon 9^8

In Nature's infinite book of secrecy
A little can I read.

— Shakespeare.

PART 1.

THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY

WHAT NATURE-STUDY IS

ATURE-STUDY is, despite all discussions and perver-
sions, a study of nature; it consists of simple, truthful
observations that may, like beads on a string, finally be
threaded upon the understanding and thus held together
as a logical and harmonious whole. Therefore, the object
of the nature-study teacher should be to cultivate in the

children powers of accurate observation and to build up within them,

understanding.

WHAT NATURE-STUDY SHOULD DO FOR THE CHILD

.p_ IRST, but not most important, nature-study gives the

child practical and helpful knowledge. It makes him

familiar with nature's ways and forces, so that he is not

so helpless in the presence of natural misfortune and

_ disasters.

Nature-study cultivates the child's imagination since there are so
many wonderful and true stories that he may read with his own eyes,
which affect his imagination as much as does fairy lore ; at the same time
nature-study cultivates in him a perception and a regard for what is true,
and the power to express it. All things seem possible in nature; yet this
seeming is always guarded by the eager quest of what is true. Perhaps,
half the falsehood in the world is due to lack of power to detect the truth
and to express it. Nature-study aids both in discernment and expression
of things as they are.

Nature-study cultivates in the child a love of the beautiful; it brings
to him early a perception of color, form and music. He sees whatever
there is in his environment, whether it be the thunder-head piled up in the
western sky, or the golden flash of the oriole in the elm; whether it be the
purple of the shadows on the snow, or the azure glint on the wing of the
little butterfly. Also, what there is of sound, he hears; he reads the
music score of the bird orchestra, separating each part and knowing
which bird sings it. And the patter of the rain, the gurgle of the brook,
the sighing of the wind in the pine, he notes and loves and becomes en-
riched thereby.

But, more than all, nature-study gives the child a sense of companion-
ship with life out of doors and an abiding love of nature ._ Let this latter
be the teacher's criterion for judging his or her work. If nature-study as
taught does not make the child love nature and the out-of-doors, then it
should cease. Let us not inflict permanent injury on the child by turning
him away from nature instead of toward it. However, if the love of
nature is in the teacher's heart, there is no danger; such a teacher, no

2 Handbook of Nature -Study

matter by what method, takes the child gently by the hand and walks
with him in paths that lead to the seeing and comprehending of what he
may find beneath his feet or above his head. And these paths whether
they lead among the lowliest plants, or whether to the stars, finally con-
verge and bring the wanderer to that serene peace and hopeful faith that
is the sure inheritance of all those who realize fully that they are
working units of this wonderful universe.

NATURE-STUDY AS A HELP TO HEALTH

ERHAPS the most valuable practical lesson the child gets
from nature-study is a personal knowledge that nature's
laws are not to be evaded. Wherever he looks, he dis-
covers that attempts at such evasion result in suffering
and death. A knowledge thus naturally attained of the
immutability of nature's "must" and "shall not" is in
itself a moral education. That the fool as well as the transgressor fares
ill in breaking natural laws, makes for wisdom in morals as well as in
hygiene.

Out-of-door life takes the child afield and keeps him in the open air,
which not only helps him physically and occupies his mind with sane
:-.ubjects, but keeps him out of mischief. It is not only during childhood
that this is true, for love of nature counts much for sanity in later life.
This is an age of nerve tension, and the relaxation which comes from the
comforting companionship found in woods and fields is, without doubt,
the best remedy for this condition. Too many men who seek the out-of-
doors for rest at the present time, can only find it with a gun in hand. To
rest and heal their nerves they must go out and try to kill some unfor-
tunate creature, — the old, old story of sacrificial blood. Far better will it
be when, through properly training the child, the man shall be enabled to
enjoy nature through seeing how creatures live rather than watching
them die. It is the sacred privilege of nature-study to do this for future
generations and for him thus trained, shall the words of Longfellow's
poem to Agassiz apply :

"And he wandered away and away, with Nature the dear old nurse,
Who sang to hint nigltt and day, the rhymes of the tinivcrse.
And when the way seemed long, and his heart began to fail,
She sang a more wonderful song, or told a more wonderful tale."

WHAT NATURE-STUDY SHOULD DO FOR THE TEACHER

^URING many years, I have been watching teachers in our
public schools in their conscientious and ceaseless work;
and so far as I can foretell, the fate that awaits them
finally is either nerve exhaustion or nerve atrophy.
The teacher must become either a neurasthenic or a
"clam."

I have had conversations with hundreds of teachers in the public
schools of New York State concerning the introduction of nature-study
into the curriculum, and most of them declared, "Oh, we have not time
for it. Every moment is full now!" Their nerves were at such a tension
that with one more thing to do they must fall apart. The question in
my own mind during these conversations was always, how long can she

The Teaching of Nature-Study 3

stand it! I asked some of them "Did you ever try a vigorous walk in the
open air in the open country every Saturday or every Sunday of your
teaching year?" "Oh no!" they exclaimed in despair of making me
understand, "On Sunday we must go to church or see our friends and on
Saturday we must do our shopping or our sewing. We must go to the
dressmaker's lest we go unclad, we must mend, and dam stockings; we
need Saturday to catch up."

Yes, catch up with more cares, more worries, more fatigue, but not
with more growth, more strength, more vigor and more courage for work.
In my belief, there are two and only two occupations for Saturday after-
noon or forenoon for a teacher. One is to be out of doors and the other is
to lie in bed, and the first is best. Out in this, God's beautiful world,
there is everything waiting to heal lacerated nerves, to strengthen tired
muscles, to please and content the soul that is torn to shreds with duty
and care. To the teacher who turns to nature's healing, nature-study in
the schoolroom is not a trouble; it is a sweet, fresh breath of air blown
across the heat of radiators and the noisome odor of over-crowded small
humanity. She, who opens her eyes and her heart nature-ward even once
a week, finds nature-study in the schoolroom a delight and an abiding joy.
What does such a one find in her schoolroom instead of the terrors of
discipline, the eternal watching and eternal nagging to keep the pupils
quiet and at work? She finds, first of all, companionship with her
children; and second, she finds that without planning or going on a far
voyage, she has found health and strength.

WHEN AND WHY THE TEACHER SHOULD SAY "l DO NOT KNOw"

O SCIENCE professor in any university, if he be a man of
high attainment, hesitates to say to his pupils " I do
not know," if they ask for information beyond his
knowledge. The greater his scientific reputation and
_ erudition, the more readily, simply and without apology
he says this. He, better than others, comprehends how
vast is the region that lies beyond man's present knowledge. It is
only the teacher in the elementary schools who has never received
enough scientific training to reveal to her how little she does know, who
feels that she must appear to know everything or her pupils will lose
confidence in her. But how useless is this pretence, in nature-study !
The pupils, whose younger eyes are much keener for details than hers,
will soon discover her limitations and then their distrust of her will be
real.

In nature-study any teacher can with honor say, "I do not know;" for
perhaps, the question asked is as yet unanswered by the great scientists.
But she should not let her lack of knowledge be a wet blanket thrown over
her pupils' interest. She should say frankly, "I do not know; let us see
if we cannot together find out this mysterious thing. Maybe no one
knows it as yet, and I wonder if you will discover it before I do." She
thus conveys the right impression, that only a little about the intricate
life of plants and animals is yet known ; and at the same time she makes
her pupils feel the thrill and zest of investigation. Nor will she lose their
respect by doing this, if she does it in the right spirit. For three years, I
had for comrades in my walks afield, two little children and they kept me

4 Handbook of Nature-Study

busy saying, "Idonotknow". But they never lost confidence inmeorin
my knowledge; they simply gained respect for the vastness of the un-
known.

The chief charm of nature-study would be taken away if it did not lead
us through the border-land of knowledge into the realm of the undiscovered.
Moreover, the teacher, in confessing her ignorance and at the same time
her interest in a subject, establishes between herself and her pupils a sense
of companionship which relieves the strain of discipline, and gives her a
new and intimate relation with her pupils which will surely prove a
potent element in her success. The best teacher is always one who is the
good comrade of her pupils.

NATURE-STUDY, THE ELIXIR OF YOUTH

HE old teacher is too likely to become didactic, dogmatic
and "bossy" if she does not constantly strive with herself.
Why? She has to be thus five days in the week and,
therefore, she is likely to be so seven. She knows arith-
metic, grammar and geography to their uttermost and
she is never allowed to forget that she knows them,
and finally her interests become limited to what she knows.

After all, what is the chief sign of growing old? Is it not the feeling
that we know all there is to be known ? It is not years which make people
old; it is ruts, and a Umitation of interests. When we no longer care
about anything except our own interests, we are then old, it matters not
whether our years be twenty or eighty. It is rejuvenation for the
teacher, thus growing old, to stand ignorant as a child in the presence of
one of the simplest of nature's miracles — the formation of a crystal, the
evolution of the butterfly from the caterpillar, the exquisite adjustment
of the silken lines in the spider's orb-web. I know how to "make magic"
for the teacher who is growing old. Let her go out with her youngest
pupil and fall on her knees before the miracle of the blossoming violet and
say: "Dear Nature, I know naught of the wondrous life of these, your
smallest creatures. Teach me !" and she will suddenly find herself young.

Mm
1^

NATURE-STUDY AS A HELP IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE

iiSuCH of the naughtiness in school is a result of the child's
lack of interest in his work, augmented by the physical
_^ inaction that results from an attempt to sit quietly. The
^ best teachers try to obviate both of these rather than to
punish because of them. Nature-study is an aid in both
respects, since it keeps the child interested and also gives him something
to do.

In the nearest approach to an ideal school that I have ever seen, for
children of second grade, the pupils were allowed, as a reward of merit, to
visit the aquaria or the terrarium for periods of five minutes, which time
was given to the bUssful observation of the fascinating prisoners. _ The
teacher also allowed the reading of stories about the plants and animals
under observation to be regarded as a reward of merit. As I entered the
schoolroom, there were eight or ten of the children at the windows watch-
ing eagerly what was happening to the creatures confined there in the
various cages. There was a mud aquarium for the frogs and salamanders,

The Teaching of Nature -Study 5

an aquarium for fish, many small aquaria for insects and each had one or
two absorbingly interested spectators who were quiet, well behaved and
were getting their nature-study lessons in an ideal manner. The teacher
told me that the problem of discipline was solved by this method, and
that she was rarely obliged to rebuke or punish. In many other schools,
watching the living creatures in the aquaria, or terrarium has been used
as a reward for other work well done.

THE RKLATIOX OF NATURE-STUDY TO SCIENCE

. ^ATURE-STUDY is not elementary science as so taught,
C^^ because its point of attack is not the same; error in this
1 1 1/' respect has caused many a teacher to abandon nature-
i'/L study and many a pupil to hate it. In elementary science
jfW\ the work begins with the simplest animals and plants
l'l;S and progresses logically through to the highest forms; at
least this is the method pursued in most universities and
schools. The object of the study is to give the pupils an outlook over
all the forms of life and their relation one to another. In nature-study
the work begins with any plant or creature which chances to interest the
pupil. It begins with the robin when it comes back to us in March,
promising spring; or it begins with the maple leaf which flutters to the
ground in all the beauty of its autumnal tints. A course in biological
science leads to the comprehension of all kinds of life upon our globe.
Nature-study is for the comprehension of the individual life of the
bird, insect or plant that is nearest at hand.

Nature-study is perfectly good science within its limits, butit is not
meant to be more profound or comprehensive than the capabilities of the
child's mind. More than all, nature-study is not science belittled as if
it were to be looked at through the reversed opera glass in order to bring
it down small enough for the child to play with. Nature-study, as far as
it goes, is just as large as is science for "grown-ups" and may deal with the
same subject matter and should be characterized by the same accuracy.
It simply does not go so far.

To illustrate : If we are teaching the science of ornithology, we take
first the Archaeopteryx, then the swimming and the scratching birds and
finally reach the song birds, studying each as a part of the whole. Nature-
study begins with the robin because the child sees it and is interested in it
and he notes the things about the habits and appearance of the robin that
may be perceived by intimate observation. In fact, he discovers for him-
self all that the most advanced book of ornithology would give concerning
the ordinary habits of this one bird; the next bird studied may be the
turkey in the barnyard, or the duck on the pond, or the screech-owl in the
spruces, if any of these happen to impinge upon his notice and interest.
However, such nature-study makes for the best of scientific ornithology,
because by studying the individual birds thus thoroughly, the pupil
finally studies a sufficient number of forms so that his knowledge, thus
assembled, gives him a better comprehension of birds as a whole than
could be obtained by the routine study of the same. Nature-study does
not start out with the classification given in books, but in the end it builds
■up a classification in the child's mind which is based on fundamental
knowledge ; it is a classification like that evolved by the first naturalists,
jt is built on careful personal observations of both form and life.

Handbook of Nature-Study

NATURE-STUDY NOT FOR DRILL

If nature-study is made a drill, its pedagogic value is lost. When it
is properly taught, the child is unconscious of mental effort or that he
is suffering the act of teaching. As soon as nature-study becomes a
task, it should be dropped; but how could it ever be a task to see that
the sky is blue, or the dandelion golden, or to listen to the oriole in the
elm!

THE CHILD NOT INTERESTED IN NATURE-STUDY

HAT to do with the pupil not interested in nat-
ure-study subjects is a problem that confronts
many earnest teachers. Usually the reason for
this lack of interest, is the limited range of sub-
jects used for nature-study lessons. Often the
teacher insists upon flowers as the lesson
subject, when toads or snakes would prove
the key to the door of the child's interest.
But whatever the cause may be, there is only
one right way out of this difficulty : The child
not interested should be kept at his regular
school work and not admitted as a member
of the nature-study class, where his influence
is always demoralizing. He had much bet-
ter be learning his spelling lesson than learn-
ing to hate nature through being obliged to
study subjects in which he is not interested. In general, it is safe to
assume that the pupil's lack of interest in nature-study is owing to a fault
in the teacher's method. She may be trying to fill the child's mind
with facts when she should be leading him to observe these for himself,
which is a most entertaining occupation for the child. It should always
be borne in mind that mere curiosity is always impertinent, and that it
is never more so than when exercised in the realm of nature. A genuine
interest should be the basis of the study of the lives of plants and lower
animals. Curiosity may elicit facts, but only real interest may mold these
facts into wisdom.

WHEN TO GIVE THE LESSON

HERE are two theories concerning the time when a nature-
study lesson should be given. Some teachers believe
that it should be a part of the regular routine; others
have found it of greatest value if reserved for that period
of the school day when the pupils are weary and restless,
and the teacher's nerves strained to the snapping point.
The lesson on a tree, insect or flower at such a moment affords immedi-
ate relief to everyone; it is a mental excursion, from which all return
refreshed and ready to finish the duties of the day.

While I am convinced that the use of the nature-study lesson for
mental refreshment makes it of greatest value, yet I realize fully that if it
is relegated to such periods, it may not be given at all. It might be
better to give it a regular period late in the day, for there is strength and
sureness in regularity. The teacher is much more likely to prepare her-
self for the lesson, if she knows that it is required at a certain time.

The Teaching of Nature-Study

THE LENGTH OF THE LESSON

HE nature-study lesson should be short and sharp and may
vary from ten minutes to a half hour in length. There
should be no dawdling; if it is an observation lesson, only
a few points should be noted and the meaning for the ob-
servations made clear. If an outline be suggested for
field observation, it should be given in an inspiring man-
ner which shall make each pupil anxious to see and read the truth for
himself. The nature story when properly read is never finished; it is
always at an interesting point, "continued in our next."

The teacher may judge as to her own progress in nature-study by the
length of time she is glad to spend in reading from nature's book what is
therein written. As she progresses, she finds those hours spent in study-
ing nature speed faster, until a day thus spent seems but an hour. The
author can think of nothing she would so gladly do as to spend days and
months with the birds, bees and flowers with no obligation for telling
what she should see. There is more than mere information in hours thus
spent. Lowei) describes them well when he says:

" Those old iays when the balancing of a yellow butterfly o'er a thistle bloom
Was spiritual food and lodging for the whole afternoon."

THE NATURE-STUDY LESSON ALWAYS NEW

A nature-study lesson should not be repeated unless the pupils
demand it. It should be done so well the first time that there is no need
of repetition, because it has thus become a part of the child's conscious-
ness. The repetition of the same lesson in different grades was, to begin
with, a hopeless incubus upon nature-study. One disgusted boy declared,
"Darn germination ! I had it in the primary and last year and now I am
having it again. I know all about germination." The boy's attitude was
a just one; but if there had been revealed to him the meaning of germina-
tion, instead of the mere process, he would have reahzed that until he had
planted and observed every plant in the world he would not know all
about germination, because each seedling has its own interesting story.
The only excuse for repeating a nature-study lesson is in recalling it for
comparison and contrast with other lessons. The study of the violet will
naturally bring about a review of the pansy; the dandelion, of the sun-
flowei-; the horse, of the donkey; the butterfly, of the moth.

NATURE-STUDY AND OBJECT LESSONS

■^HE object lesson method was introduced to drill the child
to see a thing accurately, not only as a whole, but in
detail and to describe accurately what he saw. A book
or a vase or some other object was held up before the class
for a moment and then removed; aftenvards the pupils
described it as perfectly as possible. This is an excellent
exercise and the children usually enjoy it as if it were a
game. But if the teacher has in mind the same thought when she is giv-
ing the nature-study lesson, she has little comprehension of the meaning
of the latter and the pupils will have less. In nature-study, it is not de-
sirable that the child see all the details, but rather those details that have
something to do with the life of the creature studied; if he sees that the

Handbook of Nature-Study

grasshopper has the hind legs much longer than the others, he wiUmev-
itably note that there are two other pairs of legs and he will in the
meantime have come into an illuminating comprehension of the reason
the insect is called "grasshopper." The child should see definitely and
accurately all that is necessary for the recognition of a plant or animal;
but in nature-study, the observation of form is for the purpose of better
understanding life. In fact, it is form linked with life, the relation of

'being'

to "doing."

NATURE-STUDY IN THE SCHOOLROOM

ANY subjects for nature-study lessons may be brought
into the schoolroom. Whenever it is possible, the pupils
should themselves bring the material, as the collecting
of it is an important part of the lesson. There should
be in the schoolroom conveniences for caring for the

little prisoners brought in from thefield. The terrarium
and breeding cages, of different kinds should be pro-
vided for the insects, toads and little mammals. Here they may live
in comfort, when given their natural food, while the children observe
their interesting ways. The ants' nest, and the observation hive yield
fascmating views of the marvelous lives of the insect socialists, while the
cheerful prisoner in the bird cage may be made a constant illustration of
the adaptations and habits of all birds. The aquaria for fishes, tadpoles
and insects afford the opportunity for continuous study of these water
creatures and are a never-failing source of interest to the pupils, while
the window garden may be made not only an ornament and an aesthetic
dehght, but a basis for interesting study of plant growth and development.
A^schoolroom thus equipped is a place of delight as well as enlighten-
ment to the children. Once, a boy whose luxurious home was filled with
all that money could buy and educated tastes select, said of a little nature-
study laboratory which was in the unfinished attic of a school building, but
which was teeming with life : "I think this is the most beautiful room in
the world."

NATURE-STUDY AND MUSEUM SPECIMENS

HE matter of museum specimens is another question for
the nature-study teacher to solve, and has a direct
bearing on an attitude toward taking life. There are
many who beheve the stuffed bird or the case of pinned
insects have no place in nature-study; and certainly
these should not be the chief material. But let us use
our common sense; the boy sees a bird in the woods or
field and does not know its name ; he seeks the bird in the museum and
thus is able to place it and read about it and is stimulated to make other
observations concerning it. Wherever the museum is a help to the study
of life in the field, it is well and good. Some teachers may give alive les-
son from a stuffed specimen, and other teachers may stuff their pupils
with facts about a live specimen; of the two, the former is preferable.

There is no question that making a collection of insects is an
efficient way of developing the child's powers of close observation, as wejl
as of giving him manual dexterity in handling fragile things. Also it is
a false sentiment which attributes to an insect the same agony at being

The Teaching of Nature-Study 9

impaled on a pin that we might suffer at being thrust through by a stake.
The insect nervous system is far more conveniently arranged for such an
ordeal than ours; and, too, the cyanide bottle brings immediate and pain-
less death to the insects placed within it; moreover, the insects usually
collected have short lives anyway. So far as the child is concerned, he is
thinking of his collection of moths or butterflies and not at all of taking
life; so it is not teaching him to wantonly destroy living creatures.
However, an indiscriminate encouragement of the making of insect col-
lections cannot be advised. There are some children who will profit by it
and some who will not, and unquestionably the best kind of study of
insects is watching their interesting ways while they live.

To kill a creature in order to prepare it for a nature-study lesson is not
only wrong but absurd, for nature-study has to do with life rather than
death, and the form of any creature is interesting only when its adapta-
tions for life are studied. But again, a nature-study teacher may be an
opportunist; if without any volition on her part or the pupils', a freshly
killed specimen comes to hand, she should make the most of it. The
writer remembers most illuminating lessc>ns from a partridge that broke
a window and its neck simultaneously during its flight one winter night,
a yellow hammer that killed itself against an electric wire, and a muskrat
that turned its toes to the skies for no understandable reason. In each of
these cases the creature's special physical adaptations for living its own
peculiar life were studied, and the effect was not the study of a dead
thing, but of a successful and wonderful life.

THE LEXS, MICROSCOPE AND FIELD GLASS AS HELPS IN NATURE-STUDY

N elementary grades, nature-study deals with objects which
the children can see with the naked eye. However, a lens
is a help in almost all of this work because it is such a joy
to the child to gaze at the wonders it reveals. There is no
lesson given in this book which requires more than a simple
lens for seeing the most minute parts discussed. An ex-
cellent lens may be bought for a dollar, and a fairly good one for fifty
cents or even twenty-five cents. The lens should be chained to a table
or desk where it may be used by the pupils at recess. This gives each
an opportunity for using it and obviates the danger of losing it. If
the pupils themselves own lenses, they should be fastened by a string or
chain to the pocket.

A microscope has no legitimate part in nature-study. But if there is
one available, it reveals so many wonders in the commonest objects, that
it can be made a source of added interest ofttimcs. For instance, to thus
see the scales on the butterfly's wing affords the child pleasure as well as
edification. Field or opera glasses, while indispensible for bird study, are
by no means necessary in nature-study. However, the pupils will show
greater interest in noting the birds' colors if they are allowed to make the
observations with the help of a glass.

Handbook of N ature-Study

^-jM.

USES OF PICTURES, CHARTS AND BLACKBOARD DRAWINGS

ICTURES alone should never be used as the subjects for
nature-study lessons, but they may be of great use in
illustrating and illuminating a lesson. Books well illus-
trated are more readily comprehended by the child and
are often very helpful to him, especially after his interest
in the subject is thoroughly aroused. If charts are used
to illustrate the lesson, the child is likely to be misled by the size of the
drawing, which is also the case in blackboard pictures. However, this
error may be avoided by fixing the attention of the pupil on the object
first. If the pupils are studying the ladybird and have it in their hands,
the teacher may use a diagram representing the beetle as a foot long and
it will still convey the idea accurately; but if she begins with the pict-
ure, she probably can never convince the children that the picture has
anything to do with the insect.

In making blackboard drawings illustrative of the lesson, it is best, if
possible, to have one of the pupils do the drawing in the presence of the
class; or, if the teacher does the drawing, she should hold the object in
her hand while doing it and look at it often so that the children may
see that she is trying to represent it accurately. Taking everything into
consideration, however, nature-study charts and blackboard drawings are
of little use to the nature-study teacher.

THE USES OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES

ISQUIETING problems relative to scientific nomenclature
always confront the teacher of nature-study My own
practice has been to use the popular names of species,
except in cases where confusion might ensue, and to use
the scientific names for anatomical parts. However,
this matter is of little importance if the teacher bears in
mind that the purpose of nature-study is to know the subject under obser-
vation and to learn the name incidentally.

If the teacher says: "I have a pink hepatica. Can anyone find me a
blue one?" the children, who naturally like grown-up words, will soon be
calling these flowers hepaticas. But if the teacher says, "These flowers
are called hepaticas. Now please everyone remember the name. Write
it in your books as I write it on the blackboard, and in half an hour I shall
ask you again what it is," the pupils naturally look upon the exercise as a
word lesson and its real significance is lost. This sort of nature-study is
dust and ashes and there has been too much of it. The child should never
be required to learn the name of anything in the nature-study work; but
the name should be used so often and so naturally in his presence, that
he will learn it without being conscious of the process.

THE STORY AS A SUPPLEMENT TO THE NATURE-STUDY LESSON

^ ANY of the subjects for nature lessons can be studied only
in part, since but one phase may be available at the
time. Often, especially if there is little probability that
the pupils will find opportunity to complete the study, it
is best to round out their knowledge by reading or telHng
the story to supplement the facts which they have disco v-

The Teaching of Nature-Stiidy ii

ered for themselves. This story should not be told as a finality or as a
complete picture but as a guide and inspiration for further study. Always
leave at the end of the story an interrogation mark that will remain ag-
gressive and insistent in the child's mind. To illustrate: Once a club
of junior naturalists brought me rose leaves injured by the leaf-cutter
bee and asked me why the leaves were cut out so regularly. I told
them the story of the use made by the mother bee of these oval and cir-
cular bits of leaves and made the account as vital as I was able; but at
the end I said, "I do not know which species of bee cut these leaves.
She is living here among us and building her nest with your rose leaves
which she is cutting every day almost under your very eyes. Is she
then so much more clever than you that you cannot see her nor find her
nest?" For two years following this lesson I received letters from mem-
bers of this club. Two carpenter bees and their nests were discovered by
them and studied before the mysterious leaf-cutter was finally ferreted
out. My stor}^ had left something interesting for the young naturalists
to discover. The children should be impressed with "the fact that the
nature story is never finished. There is not a weed nor an insect nor a
tree so common that the child, by observing carefully, may not see things
never yet recorded in scientific books; therefore the supplementary story
should be made an inspiration for keener interest and further investi-
gation on the part of the pupil. The supplementary story simply thrusts
aside some of the obscuring underbrush thus revealing more plainly the
path to further knowledge.

THE XATURE-STUDY ATTITUDE TOWARD LIFE AXD DEATH

ERHAPS no greater danger besets the pathway of the
nature-study teacher than the question involved in her
pupils' attitude toward life and death. To inculcate in
the child a reverence for life and yet to keep him from
becoming mawkish and morbid is truly a problem. It
is almost inevitable that the child should become sym-
pathetic with the life of the animal or plant studied,
since a true understanding of the life of any creature
creates an interest which stimulates a desire to protect this particular
creature and make its life less hard. Many times, within my own ex-
perience, have I known boys, who began by robbing birds' nests for egg
collections, to end by becoming most zealous protectors of the birds.
The humane qualities within these boys budded and blossomed in the
growing knowledge of the lives of the birds. At Cornell University, it is
a well known fact that those students who turn aside so as not to crush
the ant, caterpillar or cricket on the pavement are almost invariably
those that are studying entomology; and in America it is the botanists
themselves who are leading the crusade for flower protection.

Thus, the nature-study teacher, if she does her work well, is a sure aid
in inculcating a respect for the rights of all living beings to their own lives;
and she needs only to lend her influence gently in this direction to change
carelessness to thoughtfulness and cruelty to kindness. But with this
impetus toward a reverence for life, the teacher soon finds herself in a
dilemma from which there is no logical way out, so long as she lives in a
world where lamb chop, beefsteak and roast chicken are articles of ordi-

12 Handbook of Nature-Study

nary diet ; a world in fact, where every meal is based upon the death of
some creature. For if she places much emphasis upon the sacredness of
life, the children soon begin to question whether it be right to slay the
lamb or the chicken for their own food. It would seem that there is
nothing for the consistent nature-study teacher to do but become a
vegetarian, and even then there might arise refinements in this question
of taking life, she might have to consider the cruelty to asparagus in
cutting it off in plump infancy, or the ethics of devouring in the turnip the
food laid up by the mother plant to perfect her seed. In fact, a most
rigorous diet would be forced upon the teacher who should refuse to sus-
tain her own existence at the cost of life; and if she should attempt to
teach the righteousness of such a diet she would undoubtedly forfeit her
position; and yet what is she to do! vShe will soon find herself in the
position of a certain lady who placed sheets of sticky fly-paper around her
kitchen to rid her house of flies, and then in mental anguish picked off the
buzzing, struggling victims and sought to clean their too adhesive wings
and legs.

In fact, drawing the line between what to kill and what to let live,
requires the use of common sense rather than logic. First of all, the
nature-study teacher, while exemplifying and encouraging the humane
attitude toward the lower creatures, and repressing cnielty which
wantonly causes suffering, should never magnify the terrors of death.
Death is as natural as life and the inevitable end of physical life on our
globe. Therefore, every story and every sentiment expressed which
makes the child feel that death is terrible, is wholly wrong. The one right
way to teach about death is not to emphasize it one way or another, but to
deal with it as a circumstance common to all; it should be no more
emphasized than the fact that creatures eat or fall asleep.

Another thing for the nature-study teacher to do is to direct the
interest of the child so that it shall center upon the hungry creature
rather than upon the one which is made into the meal. It is well to
emphasize the fact that one of the conditions imposed upon every living
being in the woods and fields, is that it is entitled to a meal when it is
hungry, if it is clever enough to get it. The child naturally takes this
view of it. I remember well as a child I never thought particularly about
the mouse which m}^ cat was eating; in fact, the process of transmuting
mouse into cat seemed altogether proper, but when the cat played with
the mouse, that was quite another thing, and was never permitted.
Although no one appreciates more deeply than I the debt which we owe to
Thompson-Seton and writers of his kind, who have placed before the
public the animal story from the animal point of view and thus set us all
to thinking, yet it is certainly wrong to impress this view too strongly
upon the young and sensitive child. In fact, this process should not
begin until the judgment and the understanding is well developed, for we
all know that although seeing the other fellow's standpoint is a source of
strength and breadth of mind, yet living the other fellow's life is, at
best, an enfeebling process and a futile waste of energy.

The Teaching of Natitrc-^ytnJy 13

SHOULD THE NATURE-STUDY TEACHER TEACH HOW TO DESTROY LIFE ?

T IS probably within the proper scope of the nature-study
teacher to place emphasis upon the domain of man, who
being the most powerful of all animals, asserts his will as
to which ones shall live in his midst. From a standpoint
of abstract justice, the stray cat has just as much right
to kill and eat the robin which builds in the vine of my
porch as the robin has to pull and eat the earthworms
from my lawn ; but the place is mine, and I choose to kill
the cat and preserve the robin.

When emphasizing the domain of man, we may have to deal with the
killing of creatures which are injurious to his interests. Nature-study
may be tributary to this, in a measure, and indirectly, but it is surely not
nature-study. For example, the child studies the cabbage butterfly in
all its stages, the exquisitely sculptured yellow egg, the velvety green
caterpillar, the chrysalis with its protecting colors, the white-winged
butterfly, and becomes interested in the life of the insect. Not under any
consideration, when the attention of the child is focused on the insect,
should we suggest a remedy for it when a pest. Let the life-story of the
butterfly stand as a fascinating page of nature's book. But later, when
the child enters on his career as a gardener, when he sets out his row of
cabbage plants and waters and cultivates them, and does his best to bring
them to maturity, along comes the butterfly, now an arch enemy, and
begins to rear her progeny on the product of his toil. Now the child's
interest is focused on the cabbage, and the question is not one of killing
insects so much as of saving plants. In fact, there is nothing in spraying
the plants with Paris green which suggests cruelty to innocent caterpillars,
nor is the process likely to harden the child's sensibilities.

To gain knowledge of the life-story of insects or other creatures is
nature-study. To destroy them as pests is a part of Agriculture or
Horticulture. The one may be of fundamental assistance to the other,
but the two arc quite separate and should never be confused.

THE FIELD XOTE-BOOK

A field note-book may be made a joy to the pupil and a help to the
teacher. Any kind of a blank book will do for this, except that it should
not be too large to be carried in the pocket, and it should always have the
pencil attached. To make the note-book a success the following rules
should be observed :

(a) The bor)k should be considered the personal property of the child
and should never be criticized by the teacher except as a matter of
encouragement; for the spirit in which the notes are made, is more im-
portant than the information they cover.

(b) The making of drawings should be encouraged for illustrating
what is observed. A graphic drawing is far better than a long descripti(^n
of a natural object.

(c) The note-book should not be regarded as a part of the work in
English. The spelling, language and writing of the notes should all be
exempt from criticism.

(d) As occasion offers, outlines for observing certain plants or ani-
mals may be placed in the note-book previous to the field excursion so as
to give definite points for the work.

Handbook of Nature-Study

(e) No child should be compelled to have a note-book.

The field note-book is a veritable gold mine for the nature-study
teacher to work, in securing voluntary and happy observations from the
pupils concerning their out-of-door interests. It is a friendly gate which
admits the teacher to a knowledge of what the child sees and cares for.
Through it she may discover where the child's attention impinges upon
the realm of nature and thus may know where to find the starting point for
cultivating larger intelligence and a wider interest.

No. ^73,

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A page front the field note-book of a lad of fourteen who read Thoreau and admired

the books of Thompson-Seton.

The Teaching of Naturc-^tiidy 15

I have examined many field note-books kept by pupils in the inter-
mediate grades and have been surprised at their plenitude of accurate
observation and graphic illustration. These books ranged from blank
account books furnished by the family grocer up to a quarto, the pages of
which were adorned, with many marginal illustrations made in passionate
admiration of Thompson-Seton's books and filled with carefully trans-
cribed text, that showed the direct influence of Thoreau. These books, of
whatever quality, are precious beyond price to their owners. And why
not? For they represent what cannot be bought or sold, personal
experience in the liappy world of out-of-doors.

THE FIELD EXCURSION

ANY teachers look upon the field excursion as a precar-
ious voyage, steered between the Scylla of hilarious
seeing too much and the Charybdis of seeing nothing at
^Wih •'Wl'l^^ ^^^ because of the zest which comes from freedom in the
||.f I *|[j t'j) % fields and wood. This danger can be obviated if the
teacher plans the work definitely before starting, and
demands certain results.

It is a mistake to think that a half day is necessary for a field lesson,
since a very efficient field trip may be made during the ten or fifteen
minutes at recess, if it is well planned. Certain questions and lines of
investigation should be given the pupils before starting and given in such
a manner as to make them thoroughly interested in discovering the facts.
A certain teacher in New York State has studied all the common plants
and trees in the vicinity of her school with these recess excursions and the
pupils have been enthusiastic about the work.

The half hour excursion should be preceded by a talk concerning the
purposes of the outing and the pupils must know that certain observa-
tions are to be made or they will not be permitted to go again. This
should not be emphasized as a punishment; but they should be made to
understand that a field excursion is only, naturally enough, for those who
wish to see and understand outdoor life. For all field work, the teacher
should make use of the field notebook which should be a part of the pupils'
equipment.

PETS AS NATURE-STUDY SUBJECTS

jlTTLE attention has been given to making the child im-
derstand what would be the lives of his pets if they were
in their native environment; or to relating their habits
and lives as wild animals. Almost any pet, if properly
observed, affords an admirable opportunity for under-
standing the reasons why its structure and peculiar habits
may have made it successful among other creatures and in other lands.
Moreover the actions and the daily life of the pet make interesting
subject matter for a note-book. The lessons on the dog, rabbit and horse
as given in this volume may suggest methods for such study, and with
apologies that it is not better and more interesting, I have ])laced with the
story of the squirrel a few pages from one of my own note-books regarding
my experiences with "Furry." I include this record as a suggestion for
the children that they should keep note-books of their pets. It will lead

1 6 Handbook of Nature-Study

them to closer observation and to a better and more natural expression
of their experiences.

THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY WITH LANGUAGE WORK

ATURE-STUDY should be so much a part of the child's
thought and interest that it will naturally form a thought
core for other subjects quite unconsciously on his part.
In fact, there is one safe rule for correlation in this case, it
is legitimate and excellent training as long as the pupil
does not discover that he is correlating. But there is
something in human nature which revolts against doing one thing to
accomplish quite another. A boy once said to m.e, "I'd rather never go
on a field excursion than to have to write it up for English," a sentiment
I sympathized with keenly; ulterior motive is sickening to the honest
spirit. But if that same boy had been a member of a field class and had
enjoyed all the new experiences and had witnessed the interesting things
discovered on this excursion, and if later his teacher had asked him to
write for her an account of some part of it, because sJie wished to know
what he had discovered, the chances are that he would have written his
story joyfully and with a certain pride that would have counted much for
achievement in word expression.

AVhen Mr. John Spencer, known to so many children in New York
State as "Uncle John," was conducting the Junior Naturalist Clubs, the
teachers allowed letters to him to count for language exercises; and the
eagerness with which these letters were written should have given the
teachers the key to the proper method of teaching English. Mr. Spencer
requested the teachers not to correct the letters, because he v/ished the
children to be thinking abaut the subject matter rather than the form of
expression. But so anxious were many of the pupils to make their letters
perfect, that they earnestly requested their teachers to help them write
correctly, which was an ideal condition for teaching them English.
Writing letters to Uncle John was such a jo}^ to the pupils that it was used
as a privilege and a reward of merit in many schools. One rural teacher
reduced the percentage of tardiness to a minimum by giving the first
period in the morning to the work in English which consisted of letters to
Uncle John.

Why do pupils dislike writing English exercises ? Simply because they
are not interested in the subject they are asked to write about, and they
know that the teacher is not interested in the information contained in the
essay. But when they are interested in the subject and write about it to
a person who is interested, the conditions are entirely changed. If the
teacher, overwhelmed as she is by work and perplexities, could only keep
in mind that the purpose of a language is, after all, merely to convey ideas,
some of her perplexities would fade away. A conveyance naturally
should be fitted for the load it is to carry, and if the pupil acquires the
load first he is very likely to construct a conveyance that will be adequate.
How often the conveyance is made perfect through much effort and
polished through agony of spirit and the load entirely forgotten !

Nature-study lessons give much excellent subject matter for stories
and essays, but these essays should never be criticized or defaced with the
blue pencil. They should be read with interest by the teacher; the mis-

The TeacJiing of Nature-Study 17

takes made in them, so transformed as to be unrecognizable, may be used
for drill exercises in grammatical construction. After all, grammar and
spelling are only gained by practice and there is no royal road leading to
their acquirement.

THE CORRELATION OF XATURE-STUDY AND DRAWING

HE correlation of nature-study and drawing is so natural
and inevitable that it needs never be revealed to the
pupil. When the child is interested in studying any ob-
ject, he enjoys illustrating his observations with draw-
ings; the happy absorption of children thus engaged is a
delight to witness. At its best, drawing is a perfectly
natural method of self-expression. The savage and the young child,
both untutored, seek to express themselves and their experiences by
this means. It is only when the object to be drawn is foreign to the in-
terest of the child that drawing is a task.

Nature-study offers the best means for bridging the gap that lies
between the kindergarten child who makes drawings because he loves to
and is impelled to from within, and the pupil in the grades who is obliged
to draw wdiat the teacher places before him. From making crude and
often meaningless pencil strokes, which is the entertainment of the young
child, the outlining of a leaf or some other simple and interesting natural
object, is a normal step full of interest for the child because it is still self-
expression.

Miss Mary E. Hill gives every year in the Goodyear School of Syracuse
an exhibition of the drawings made by the children in the nature-study
classes; and these are universally so excellent that most people regard
them as an exhibition from the Art Department; and yet many of these
pupils have never had lessons in drawing. They have learned to draw
because they like to make pictures of the living objects which they have
studied. One year there were many pictures of toads in various stages in
this exhibit, and although their anatomy was sometimes awry in the pic-
tures, yet there was a certain vivid expression of life in their representa-
tion; one felt that the toads could jump. Miss Hill allows the pupils to
choose their own medium, pencil, crayon, or water-color, and says that
they seem to feel which is best. For instance, when drawing the outline
of trees in winter they choose pencil, but when representing the trillium
or iris they prefer the water-color, while for bitter-sweet and crocuses they
choose the colored crayons.

It is through this method of drawing that which interests him, that the
child retains and keeps as his own, what should be an inalienable right, a
graphic method of expressing his own impressions. Too much have we
emphasized drawing as an art; it may be an art, if the one who draws is
an artist; but if he is not an artist he still has a right to draw if it pleases
him to do so. We might as well declare that a child should not speak
unless he put his words into poetry, as to declare that he should not draw
because his drawings are not artistic.

Handbook of Nature-Stiidy

THE CORRELATION' OF XATURE-STUDY WITH GEOGRAPHY

IFE depends upon its environment. Geographical
conditions and limitations have shaped the mold
into which plastic life has been poured and by
which its form has been modified. It may be
easy for the untrained mind to see how the des-
erts and oceans affect life. Cattle may not roam
in the former because there is nothing there for
them to eat, nor may they occupy the latter be-
cause they are not fitted for breathing air in the
water. And yet the camel can endure thirst and
live on the scant food ot the desert; and the
whale is a mammal fitted to live in the sea. The question is, how are we
to impress the child with the " have to " which lies behind all these geo-
graphical facts. If animals live in the desert they liave to subsist on
scant and peculiar food which grows there; they liave to get along with
little water; they have to endure heat and sand storms; they Iiave to
have eyes that will not become blinded by the vivid reflection of the sun-
light on the sand ; they have to be of sand color so that they may escape
the eyes of their enemies or creep upon their prey unperceived.

All these have to's are not mere chance, but they have existed so long
that the animal, by constantly coming in contact with them, has attained
its present form and habits.

There are just as many have to's in the stream or the pond back of the
school-house, on the dry hillside behind it or in the woods beyond the creek
as there are in desert or ocean; and when the child gets an inkling of this
fact, he has made a great step into the realm of geography. When he
realizes why water lilies can grow only in still water that is not too deep
and which has a silt bottom, and why the cat-tails grow in swamps where
there is not too much water, and why the mullen grows in the dry pasture,
and why the hepatica thrives in the rich, damp woods, and why the daisies
grow in the meadows, he will understand that this partnership of nature
and geography illustrates the laws which govern life. Many phases of
physical geography belong to the realm of nature-study; the brook, its
course, its work or erosion and sedimentation; the rocks of many kinds,
the soil, the climate, the weather, are all legitimate subjects for nature-
study lessons.

THE CORRELATION OF XATURE-STUDY WITH HISTORY

^iA^HERE are many points where nature-study impinges
ttpon history in a way that may prove the basis for an
inspiring lesson. Many of our weeds, cultivated plants
and domestic animals have been introduced from Eu-
rope and are a part of our colonial history ; while there
are many of the most commonly seen creatures which
have played their part in the history of ancient times.
For instance, the bees which gave to man the only
means available to him for sweetening his food until the 17th century,
"were closely allied to the home life of ancient peoples. The buffalo
which ranged our western plains had much to do with the life of the red
man. The study of the grasshopper brings to the child's attention stories

Tlte Teaching of Nature-Study

of the locusts' invasion mentioned in the Bible, and the stars which
witnessed our creation and of which Job sang and the ancients wrote,
shine over our heads every night.

But the trees, through the lengthy span of their lives, cover more history
individually, than do other organisms. In glancing across the wood-covered
hills of New York one often sees there, far above the other trees, the
gaunt crowns of old white pines. Such trees belonged to the forest
primeval and may have attained the age of two centuries; they stand
there looking out over the world, relics of another age when America be-
longed to the red man, and the bear and the panther played or fought
beneath them. The cedars live longer than do the pines and the great
scarlet oak may have attained the age of four centuries before it yields
to fate.

Perhaps in no other way may the attention of the pupil be turned so
naturally to past events, as through the thought that the life of such a tree
has spanned so much of human history. The life history of one of these
ancient trees should be made the center of local history; let the pupils
find when the town was first settled by the whites and where they came
from and how large the tree was then. AVhat Indian tribes roamed the
woods before that and what animals were common in the forest when this
tree was a sapling? Thus may be brought out the chief events in the
history of the county and township, when they were established and for
whom or what they were named; and a comparison of the present
industries may be made with those of a hundred years ago.

THE CORRELATION OF NATURE-STUDY WITH ARITHMETIC

HE arithmetical problems presented by nature-study
are many; some of them are simple and some of
them are complicated, and all of them are illumin-
ing. Seed distribution especially lends itself to
computation; a milkweed pod contains 140 seeds;
there are five such pods on one plant, each milkweed
plant requires at least one square foot of ground to
grow on ; how much ground would be required to
grow all of the seeds from this one plant? Or, count
the seeds in one dandelion head, multiply by the
number of flower heads on the plant and estimate
how many plants can grow on a square foot, then
ask a boy how long it would take for one dandelion
plant to cover his father's farm with its progeny; or
count the blossoms on one branch of an apple tree,
later count the ripened fruit; what percentage of blossoms matured in-
to fruit? Measuring trees, their height and thickness and computing the
lumber they will make combines arithmetic and geometry, and so on ad
infinitum.

As a matter of fact, the teacher will find in almost every nature lesson
an arithmetic lesson; and when arithmetic is used in this work, it should
be vital and inherent and not "tacked on;" the pupils should be really
interested in the answers to their problems; and as with all correlation,
the success of it depends upon the genius of the teacher.

Handbook of Nature-Study

GARDENING AND NATURE-STUDY

RRONEOUSLY, some people maintain that gardening is
nature-study; this is not so necessarily nor ordinarily.
Gardening may be a basis for nature-study but it is
rarely made so to any great extent. Even the work in
children's gardens is so conducted that the pupils know
little or nothing of the flowers or vegetables which they
grow except their names, their uses to man and how to
cultivate them. They are taught how to prepare the soil, but the
reason for this from the plant's standpoint is never revealed; and if
the child becomes acquainted with the plants in his garden, he makes the
discovery by himself. All this is nothing against gardening! It is a
wholesome and valuable experience for a child to learn how to make a
garden even if he remains ignorant of the interesting facts concerning the
plants which he there cultivates. But if the teachers are so inclined, they
may find in the garden and its products, the most interesting m.aterial for
the best of nature lessons. Every plant the child grows is an individual
with its own peculiarities as well as those of its species in manner of
growth. Its roots, stems and leaves are of certain form and structure;
and often the special uses to the plant of its own kind of leaves, stems and
roots are obvious. Each plant has its own form of flower and even its
own tricks for securing pollination ; and its own manner of developing
and scattering its seeds. Every weed of the garden has developed
some special method of winning and holding its place among the culti-
vated plants; and in no other way may the child so fully and naturally
come into a comprehension of that term "the survival of the fittest"
as by studying the ways of the fit as exemplified in the triumphant weeds
of his garden.

Every earthworm working below the soil is doing something for the
garden. Every bee that visits the flowers there is on an errand for the
garden as well as for herself. Every insect feeding on leaf or root is doing
something to the garden. Every bird that nests near by or that ever
visits it, is doing something which affects the life and the growth of the
garden. What all of these uninvited guests are doing is one field of
garden nature-study. Aside from all this study of individual life in the
garden which even the youngest child may take part in, there are the
more advanced lessons on the soil. What kind of soil is it? From what
sort of rock was it formed? What renders it mellow and fit for the grow-
ing of plants? Moreover, what do the plants get from it? How do they
get it? What do they do with what they get?

This leads to the subject of plant physiology, the elements of which
may be taught simply by experiments carried on b}^ the children them-
selves, experiments which should demonstrate the sap currents in the
plant; the use of water to carry food and in making the plant rigid; the
use of sunshine in making the plant food in the leaf laboratories; the
nourishment provided for the seed and its germination, and many other
similar lessons.

A child who makes a garden, and thus becomes intimate with the plants
he cultivates, and comes to understand the interrelation of the various
forms of life which he finds in his garden, has progressed far in the funda-
mental knowledge of nature's ways as well as in a practical knowledge
of agriculture.

The Teaching of Nature-Study 21

NATURE-STUDY AND AGRICULTURE

UCKILY, thumb-rtile agriculture is being pushed to the wall
in these enlightened days. Thumb rules would work much
better if nature did not vary her performances in such a
confusing way. Government experiment stations
were established because thumb rules for farming
were unreliable and disappointing; and all the work
of all the experiment stations has been simply ad-
"~ vanced nature-study and its application to the prac-

tice of agriculture. Both nature-study and agriculture are based upon
the study of life and the physical conditions which encourage or limit life;,
this is known to the world as the study of the natural sciences; and if we
see clearly the relation of nature-study to science, we may understand
better the relation of nature-study to agriculture, which is based upon
the sciences.

Nature-study is science brought home. It is a knowledge of botany,
zoology and geology as illustrated in the dooryard, the corn-field or the
woods back of the house. Some people have an idea that to know these
sciences one must go to college; they do not understand that nature has
furnished the material and laboratories on every farm in the land. Thus,
by beginning with the child in nature-study we take him to the laboratory
of the wood or garden, the roadside or the field, and his materials are the
wild flowers or the weeds, or the insects that visit the golden-rod or the
bird that sings in the maple tree, or the woodchuck whistling in the pas-
ture. The child begins to study living things anywhere or everywhere,
and his progress is always along the various tracks laid down by the laws
of life, along which his work as an agriculturist must always progress if it
is to be successful.

The child through nature-study learns the way a plant grows, whether
it be an oak, a turnip or a pigweed; he learns how the roots of each is
adapted to its needs; how the leaves place themselves to get the sunshine
and why they need it; and how the flowers get their pollen carried by the
bee or wind; and how the seeds are finally scattered and planted. Or he
learns about the life of the bird, whether it be a chicken, an owl or a
bobolink; he knows how each bird gets its food and what its food is, where
it lives, where it nests and its relation to other living things. He studies
the bumblebee and discovers its great mission of pollen carrying for many
flowers, and in the end would no sooner strike it dead than he would
voluntarily destroy his clover patch. This is the kind of learning we call
nature-study and not science or agriculture. But the country child can
never learn anything in nature-study that has not something to do with
science; and that has not its own practical lesson for him, when he shall
become a farmer.

Some have argued, "Why not make nature-study along the lines of
agriculture solely? Why should not the child begin nature-study with
the cabbage rather than the wild flowers?" This argument carried out
logically provides recreation for a boy in hoeing com rather than in play-
ing ball. Many parents in the past have argued thus and have, in conse-
quence, driven thousands of splendid boys from the country to the city
with a loathing in their souls for the drudgery which seemed all there was
to farm life. The reason why the wild flowers may be selected for begin-

2 2 Handbook of Nature-Study

ning the nature-study of plants, is because every child loves these wood-
land posies, and his happiest hours are spent in gathering them. Never
yet have we known of a case where a child having gained his knowledge of
the way a plant lives through studying the plants he loves, has failed to be
interested and delighted to find that the wonderful things he discovered
about his wild floT^er may be true of the vegetable in the garden, or the
purslane which fights with it for ground to stand upon.

Some have said, "We, as farmers, care only to know what concerns our
pocket-books; we wish only to study those things which we must, as
farmers, cultivate or destroy. We do not care for the butterfly, but we
wish to know the plum weevil; we do not care for the trillium but we are
'interested in the onion; we do not care for the meadow-lark but we
cherish the gosling." This is an absurd argument since it is a mental
impossibility for any human being to discriminate between two things
when he knows or sees only one. In order to understand the important
economic relations to the world of one plant or animal, it is absolutely
necessary to have a wide knowledge of other plants and animals. One
might as well say, "I will see the approaching cyclone, but never look at
the sky; I will look at the clover but not see the dandelion ; I will look for
the sheriff when he comes over the hill but will not see any other team on
the road."

Nature-study is an effort to make the individual use his senses instead
of losing them; to train him to keep his eyes open to all things so that his
powers of discrimination shall be based on wisdom. The ideal farmer is
not the man who by hazard and chance succeeds; he is the man who loves
his farm and all that surrounds it because he is awake to the beauty as well
as to the wonders which are there ; he is the man who understands as far
as may be the great forces of nature which are at work around him, and
therefore, he is able to m.ake them work for him. For what is agriculture
save a diversion of natural forces for the benefit of man ! The farmer who
knows these forces only when restricted to his paltry crops, and has no
idea of their larger application, is no more efficient as a farmicr than would
a man be as an engineer who knew nothing of his engine except how to
start and stop it.

In order to appreciate truly his farm, the farmer must needs begin as a
child with nature-study ; in order to be successful and make the farm pay,
he must needs continue in nature-study; and to make his declining years
happy, content, full of wide sympathies and profitable thought, he must
needs conclude with nature-study; for nature-study is the alphabet of
agriculture and no word in that great vocation may be spelled without it.

NATURE-STUDY CLUBS

,HE organizing of a club by the pupils for the purpose of
studying out-of-door life, is a great help and inspiration
to the work in nature-study in the classroom. The
essays and the talks before the club, prove efficient aid in
English composition; and the varied interests of the
members of the club, furnish new and vital material for
stud\^ A button or a badge may be designed for the club
and, of course, it must have constitution and by-laws.
The proceedings of the club meetings should be conducted
according to parliamentary rules; but the field excursions
should be entirelv informal.

The Teaching of N ature-Stiidy

The meetings of the Junior Naturahsts Clubs, as organized in the
schools of New York State by Mr. John W. Spencer, were most impres-
sive. The school session would be brought to a close, the teacher stepping
down and taking a seat with the pupils. The president of the club, some
bashful boy or slender slip of a girl would take the chair and conduct the
meeting with a dignity and efficiency worthy of a statesman. The order
was perfect, the discussion much to the point. I confess to a feeling of
awe when I attended these meetings, conducted so seriously and so
formally, by such youngsters. Undoubtedly, the parliamentary training
and experience in speaking impromptu, are among the chief benefits of
such a club.

These clubs may be organized for special study. In one bird club of
which I know there have been contests. Sides were chosen and the
number of birds seen from May ist to 31st inclusive was the test of
supremacy. Notes on the birds were taken in the field with such care,
that when at the end of the month each member handed in his notes, they
could be used as evidence of accurate identification. An umpire with the
help of bird manuals decided the doubtful points. This year the score
stood 79 to 81.

The programs of the nature club should be varied so as to be continually
interesting. Poems and stories, concerning the objects studied, help
make the program attractive.

Handbook of N ature-Study

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

IRST and indispensably, the teacher should have at
hand the subject of the lesson. She should make
herself familiar with the points covered by the
questions and read the story before giving the lesson.
If she does not have the time to go over the observa-
tions suggested, before giving the lesson, she should
take up the questions with the pupils as a joint
investigation, and be boon companion in discover-
ing the story.

The story should not be read to the pupils. It is given as an assistance
to the teacher, and is not meant for direct information to the pupils. If
the teacher knows a fact in nature's realm, she is then in a position to lead
her pupils to discover this fact for themselves.

Make the lesson an investigation and make the pupils feel that they
are investigators. To tell the story to begin with, inevitably spoils this
attitude and quenches interest.

The "leading thought" embodies some of the points which should be
in the teacher's mind while giving the lesson; it should not be read or
declared to the pupils.

The outlines for observations herein given, by no means cover all of
the observations possible; they are meant to suggest to the teacher
observations of her own, rather than to be followed slavishly.

The suggestions for observations have been given in the form of ques-
tions, merely for the sake of saving space. The direct questioning
method, if not employed with discretion, becomes tiresome to both pupil
and teacher. If the questions do not inspire the child to investigate, they
are useless. To grind out answers to questions about any natural object
is not nature-study, it is simply "grind," a form of mental activity which
is of much greater use when applied to spelling or the multipHcation table
than to the study of nature. The best teacher will cover the points
suggested for observations with few direct questions. To those who
find the questions inadequate I will say that, although I have used
these outlines once, I am sure I should never be able to use them again
without making changes.

The topics chosen for these lessons may not be the most practical nor
the most interesting nor the most enlightening that are to be found ; they
are simply those subjects which I have used in my classes, because we
happened^o find them at hand the mornings the lessons were given.

While an earnest attempt has been made to make the information in
this book accurate, it is to be expected and to be hoped that many dis-
crepancies will be found by those who follow the lessons. No two ani-
mals or plants are just alike, and no two people see things exactly the
same way. The chief aim of this volume is to encourage investigation
rather than to give information. Therefore, if mistakes are found, the
object of the book will have been accompHshed, and the author will feel
deeply gratified. If the teacher finds that the observations made by her
and her pupils, do not agree with the statements in the book, I earnestly
enjoin upon her to trust to her own eyes rather than to any book.

No teacher is expected to teach all the lessons in this book. A wide
range of subjects is given, so that congenial choice may be made.

PART II,

ANIMAL LIFE

L BIRD STUDY

^■■W^^HE reason for studying any bird is to ascertain what
I I it does; in order to accomplish this, it is necessary

■ to know what the bird is, learning what it is, being

- • "« ' simply a step that leads to a knowledge of what

it does. But, to hear some of our bird devotees
talk, one would think that to be able to identify
a bird is all of bird study. On the contrary, the
identification of birds is simply the alphabet to
the real study, the alphabet by means of which
we may spell out the life habits of the bird. To
know these habits is the ambition of the true orni-
thologist, and should hkewise be the ambition of the beginner, even
though the beginner be a young child.

Several of the most common birds have been selected as subjects for
lessons in this book; other common birds, like the phoebe and wrens, have
been omitted purposely; after the children have studied the birds, as
indicated in the lessons, they will enjoy working out lessons for them-
selves with other birds. Naturally, the sequence of these lessons does not
follow scientific classification; in the first ten lessons, an attempt has
been made to lead the child gradually into a knowledge of bird life.
Beginning with the chicken there follow naturally the lessons with
pigeons and the canary; then there follows the careful and detailed study
of the robins and constant comparison of them with the blue birds. This
is enough for the first year in the primary grades. The next year the
work begins with the birds that remain in the North during the winter,
the chickadee, nuthatch and downy woodpecker. After these have been
studied carefully, the teacher may be an opportunist when spring comes
and select any of the lessons when the bird subjects are at hand. The
classification suggested for the woodpeckers and the swallows is for more
advanced pupils, as are the lessons on the geese and turkeys. It is to
be hoped that these lessons will lead the child directly to the use of the
bird manuals, of which there are several excellent ones.

BEGINNING BIRD STUDY IN THE PRIMARY GRADES

The hen is especially adapted as an object lesson for the young
beginner of bird study. First of all, she is a bird, notwithstanding the
adverse opinions of two of my small pupils who stoutly maintained that
"a robin is a bird, but a hen is a hen." Moreover, the hen is a bird always
available for nature-study; she looks askance at us from the crates of the
world's marts; she comes to meet us in the country barnyard, stepping
toward us sedately; looking at us earnestly, with one eye, then turning her

Handbook of Nature-Study

head so as to check up her observations with the other; meantime she
asks us a httie question in a wheedUng, soft tone, which we understand
perfectly to mean "have you perchance brought me something to eat?"
Not only is the hen an interesting bird in herself, but she is a bird with
problems; and by studying her carefully we may be introduced into the
very heart and center of bird life.

This lesson may be presented in two ways: First, if the pupils live in
the country where they have poultry at home, the whole series of lessons
may best be accomplished through interested talks on the part of the
teacher, which should be followed on the part of the children, by observa-
tions, which should be made at home and the results given in school in
oral or written lessons. Second, if the pupils are not familiar with fowls,
a hen and a chick, if possible, should be kept in a cage in the schoolroom
for a few days, and a duck or gosling should be brought in one day for
observation. The crates in which fowls are sent to market make very
good cages. One of the teachers of the Elmira, N. Y. Schools introduced
into the basement of the schoolhouse a hen, which there hatched her
brood of chicks, much to the children's delight and edification. After the
pupils have become thoroughly interested in the hen and are familiar with
her ways, after they have fed her and watched her, and have for her a
sense of ownership, the following lessons may be given in an informal
manner, as if they were naturally suggested to the teacher's mind through
watching the fowl.

Bird Study 27

FEATHERS AS CLOTHING

Teacher's Story

Wr-^'^T^, ^ HE bird's clothing affords a natural beginning for bird

^^ I ^^ study because the wearing of feathers is a most strik-
^ * ^ ing character distinguishing birds from other crea-

tures; also, feathers and flying are the first things
the young child notices about birds.
The purpose of all of these lessons on the hen are: (a) To induce the
child to make continued and sympathetic observations on the habits of
the domestic birds, (b) To cause him involuntarily to compare the
domestic with the wild birds, (c) To induce him to think for himself why
the shape of the body, wings, head, beak, feet, legs and feathers are
adapted in each species to protect the bird and assist it in getting its
living.

The overlapping of the feathers on a hen's back and breast is a pretty
illustration of nature's method of shingling, so that the rain, finding no
place to enter, drips off, leaving the bird's underclothing quite dry. It
is interesting to note how a hen behaves in the rain; she droops her tail
and holds herself so that the water finds upon her no resting place, but
simply a steep surface down which to flow to the ground.

Each feather consists of Hooks on bnrbeU

three parts, the shaft or quill,
which is the central stiff stem
of the feather, giving i t
strength. From this quill
come off the barbs which,
toward the outer end, join to-
gether in a smooth web, mak-
ing the thin, fan-like portion
of the feather ; at the base is
the fluff, which is soft and
downy and near to the body
of the fowl. The teacher
should put on the blackboard
this figure so that incidentally
the pupils may learn the parts
of a feather and their struc-
ture. If a microscope is
available, show both the web ^ jeather

and the fluff of a feather under a three-fourths objective.

The feathers on the back of a hen are longer and narrower in propor-
tion than those on the breast and are especially fitted to protect the back
from rain ; the breast feathers are shorter and have more of the fluff, thus
protecting the breast from the cold as well as the rain. It is plain to any
child that the soft fluff is comparable to our woolen underclothing while
the srnooth, overlapping web forms a rain and wind-proof outer coat.
Downisafeather with no quill; young chicks are covered with down. A
pin-feather is simply a young feather rolled up in a sheath, which bursts
later and is shed, leaving the feather free to assume its form. Take a
large pin-feather and cut the sheath open and show the pupils the young
feather lying within.

•/ ,/,V cry„|J/

Handbook of N aiiire-Stiidy

When a hen oils her feathers it is a process well worth observing. The
oil gland is on her back just at the base of the tail feathers; she squeezes
the gland with her beak to get the oil and then rubs the beak over the sur-
face of her feathers and passes them through it; she spends more time
oiling the feathers on her back and breast than those on the other parts,
so that they will surely shed water. Country people say when the hen
oils her feathers, it is a sure sign of rain. The hen sheds her feathers once
a year and is a most untidy looking bird meanwhile, a fact that she seems
to realize, and is as shy and cross as a young lady caught in company in
curl papers; but she seems very pleased with herself when she finally
gains her new feathers.

Feathers of a rooster, showing their relative size, shape and position
I, neck hackle; 2. breast; 3, wing shoulder covert; 4, wing flight covert ; 5, wing primary;
6, wing secondarv; 7, wing covert; 8, back; 9, tail covert; 10, main tail; 11, fluft;
T2, thigh; 13, saddle hackle; 14. the sickle or feather of beauty; 15, lesser sickle.
Prof. J. E. Rice in Rural School Leaflet.

Bird Study
LESSON I

Feathers as Clothing

Leading thought — Feathers grow from the skin of a bird and protect
the bird from rain, snow, wind and cold. Some of the feathers act as
cloaks or mackintoshes and others as underclothing.

Method — The hen should be at close range for this lesson where the
children may observe how and where the different kinds of feathers grow.
The pupils should also study separately the form of a feather from the
back, from the breast, from the under side of the body, and a pin-feather.

Observations for pupils — i. How are the feathers arranged on the
backof the hen? Are they Hke shingles on the roof ? If so, what for?

2. How does a hen look when standing in the rain?

3. How are the feathers arranged on the breast?

4. Compare a feather from the back and one from the breast and
note the difference.

5. Are both ends of these feathers alike? If not, what is the
difference?

6. Is the fluffy part of the feather on the outside or next to the
bird's skin ? What is its use ?

7. Why is the smooth part of the feather (the web) on the outside?

8. Some feathers are all fluff and are called "down." At what age
was the fowl all covered with down ?

9. What is a pin-feather? What makes you think so?

10. How do hens keep their feathers oily and glossy so they will
shed water?

11. Where does the hen get the oil? Describe how she oils her
feathers and which ones does she oil most? Does she oil her feathers
before a rain?

"How beautiful your feathers be!''
The Redbird sang to the Tulip-tree

New garbed in autumn gold.
"Alas!" the bending branches sighed,
"They cannot like your leaves abide

To keep us from the cold!"

— John B. Tabb.

Handbook of Nature-Study

FEATHERS AS ORNAMENT
Teacher s Story

HE ornamental plumage of birds is one of the
principal illvstrations of a great principle of evo-
lution. The theory is that the male birds win
their mates because of their beauty, those that
are not beautiful being doomed to live single
and leave no progeny to inherit their dullness.
On the other hand, the successful wooer hands
down his beauty to his sons. However, another
quite different principle acts upon the coloring
of the plumage of the mother birds; for if they should develop
bright colors themselves, they would attract the eyes of the enemy
to their precious hidden nests; only by being inconspicuous, are
they able to protect their eggs and nestlings from discovery and
death. The mother partridge, for instance, is so nearly the color of the
dead leaves on the ground about her, that we may almost step upon her
before we discover her; if she were the color of the oriole or tanager she
would very soon be the center of attraction to every prowler. Thus, it
has come about that among the birds the feminine love of beauty has
developed the gorgeous colors of the males, while the need for protection
of the home has kept the female plumage modest and unnoticeable.

The curved feathers of the rooster's tail are weak and mobile and
could not possibly be of any use as a rudder; but they give grace and
beauty to the fowl and cover the useful rudder feathers underneath by a
feather fountain of iridescence. The neck plumage of the cock is also
often luxurious and beautiful in color and quite different from that of the
hen. Among the ducks the brilliant blue-green iridescent head of the
drake and his wing bars are beautiful, and make his wife seem Quaker-like
in contrast.

As an object lesson to instil the idea that the male bird is proud of his
beautiful feathers, I know of none better than that presented by the
turkey gobbler, for he is a living expression of self-conscious vanity. He
spreads his tail to the fullest extent and shifts it this way and that to show
the exquisite play of colors over the feathers in the sunlight, meanwhile
throwing out his chest to call particular attention to his blue and red
wattles ; and to keep from bursting with pride he bubbles over in vain-
glorious "gobbles."

The hen with her chicks and the turkey hen with her brood, if they
follow their own natures, must wander in the fields for food. If they
were bright in color, the hawks would soon detect them and their chances
of escape would be small; this is another instance of the advantage to the
young of adopting the colors of the mother rather than of the father; a
fact equally true of the song birds in cases where the males are brilliant in
color at maturity. The Baltimore oriole does not assist his mate in
brooding, but he sits somewhere on the home tree and cheers her by his
glorious song and by glimpses of his gleaming orange coat. Some have
accused him of being lazy; on the contrary, he is a wise householder for,
instead of attracting the attention of crow or squirrel to his nest, he dis-
tracts their attention from it by both color and song.

A peacock's feather should really be a lesson by itself, it is so much a
thing of beauty. The brilliant color of the purple eye-spot, and the grace-

Bird Study

ful flowing barbs that form the setting to the central gem, are all
a training in aesthetics as well as in nature-study. After the
children have studied such a
feather let them see the peacock
either in reality or in picture
and give them stories about this
bird of Juno; a bird so incon-
spicuous if it were not for his
great spread of tail, that a child
seeing it first cried, "Oh, oh, see
this old hen all in bloom!"

The whole question of sexual
selection may be made as plain
as need be for the little folks, by
simply telling them that the
mother bird chooses for her mate the one which is most brightly and
beautifully dressed, and make much of the comb and wattles of the
rooster and gobbler as additions to the brilliancy of their appearance.

Peacock feathers. Is beauty useful?

LESSON II

Feathers as Ornament

Leading thotight — The color of feathers and often their shape are for the
purpose of making birds more beautiful ; while in others, the color of the
feathers protects them from the observation of their enemies.

Methods — While parts of this lesson relating to fowls, may be given in
primary grades, it is equally fitted for pupils who have a wider knowledge
of birds. Begin with a comparison of the plumage of the hen and the
rooster. Then, if possible, study the turkey gobbler and a peacock in life
or in pictures. Also the plumage of a Rouen duck and drake, and if
possible, the Baltimore oriole, the goldfinch, the scarlet tanager and
the cardinal.

Observations — i. Note difference in shape and color of the tail
feathers of hen and rooster.

2. Do the graceful curved tail feathers of the rooster help him in
flying? Are they stifif enough to act as a rudder?

3. If not of use in flying what are they for?
the more beautiful the hen or the rooster?

4. In what respects is the rooster a more beautiful fowl?

5. What other parts of the rooster's plumage is more beautiful than
that of the hen?

6. If a turkey gobbler sees you looking at him he begins to strut.
Do you think he does this to show off his tail feathers? Note how he
turns his spread tail this way and that so the sunshine will bring out the
beautiful changeable colors. Do you think he does this so you can see
and admire him?

7. Describe the difference in plumage between the hen turkey and
the gobbler? Does the hen turkey strut?

8. Note the beautiful blue-green iridescent head and wing patches

Which do vou think

Handbook of Nature-Study

on the wings of the Rouen ducks? Is the drake more beautiful than the
duck?

9. What advantage is it for these fowls to have the father bird
more beautiful and bright in color than the mother bird?

10. In case of the Baltimore oriole is the mother bird as bright in
color as the father bird? Why?

11. Study a peacock's feather. What color is the eye-spot? What
color around that? What color around that? What color and shape are
the outside barbs of the feather? Do you blame a peacock for being
proud when he can spread a tail of a hundred eyes? Does the peahen
have such beautiful tail feathers as the peacock?

Peahens and peacocks

The bird of Juno glories in his phimes;

Pride makes the fowl to prcene his feathers so.

His spotted train fetched from old Argus' head.

With golden rays like to the brighest sun,

Inserteth self-love in the silly bird;

Till midst its hot and glorious fumes

He spies his feet and then lets fall his plumes.

— The Peacock, Robert Greene, (1560),

Bird Study

HOW BIRDS FLY

Teacher's Story

'O convince the children that a bird's wings correspond
to our arms, they should see a fowl with its feathers off,
prepared for market or oven, and they will infer the
fact at once.

The bird flies by lifting itself through pressing down upon the air with
its wings. There are several experiments which are needed to make the
child understand this. It is difficult for children to conceive that the air
is really anything, because they cannot see it; so the first experiment
should be to show that the air is something we can push against or that
pushes against us. Strike the air with a fan and we feel there is something
which the fan pushes; we feel the wind when it is blowing and it is very
difficult for us to walk against a hard wind. If we hold an open umbrella
in the hand while we jump from a step we feel buoyed up because the
umbrella presses down upon the air. The bird presses down upon the air
with the wings, just as the open umbrella does. The bird flies by pressing
down upon the air with its wings just as a boy jumps high by pressing
down with his hands on his vaulting pole.

Hen with wing outstretched showing primaries and secondaries

of the wing and the ovcrlappi)ig of the feathers.

From practical exercise on feathers by Prof. J. E. Rice in Rural

School Leaflet.

34 Handbook of N atiire-SUidy

Study wing and note : (a) That the wings open and close at the
will of the bird, (b) That the feathers open and shut on each other like a
fan. (c) When the wing is open the wing quills overlap, so that the air
cannot pass through them, (d) When the wing is open it is curved so
that it is more efficient, for the same reason that an umbrella presses
harder against the atmosphere when it is open than when it is broken by
the wind and turned wrong side out.

A wing feather has the barbs on the front edge lying almost parallel to
the quill while those on the hind edge come off at a wide angle. The
reason for this is easy to see, for this feather has to cut the air as the bird
flies; and if the barbs on the front side were like those of the other side
they would be torn apart by the wind. The barbs on the hind side of the
feather form a strong, close web so as to press down on the air and not let
it through. The wing quill is curved; the convex side is up and the con-
cave side below during flight. The concave side, like the umbrella,
catches more air than the upper side ; the down stroke of the wing is for-
ward and down; while on the up stroke, as the wing is lifted, it bends at
the joint like a fan turned sidewise, and offers less surface to resist the air.
Thus, the up stroke does not push the bird down.

Observations should be made on the use of the bird's tail in flight.
The hen spreads her tail like a fan when she flies to the top of the fence;
the robin does likewise when in flight. The fact that the tail is used as a
rudder to guide the bird in flight, as well as to give more surface for
pressing down upon the air, is hard for the younger pupils to understand,
and perhaps can be best taught by watching the erratic unbalanced flight
of young birds whose tail feathers are not yet grown.

The tail feather differs from the wing feather in that the quill is not
curved, and the barbs on each side are of about equal length and lie at
about the same angle on each side the quill. See Fig. p. 28.

References — The Bird Book, Eckstorm, pp. 75-92; Story of the
Birds, Baskett, pp. 171-176; Bird Life, Chapman, p. 18; The Bird,
Beebe, Ch. XIII; First Book of Birds, Miller.

LESSON III.

How Birds Fly

Leading thought — A bird flies by pressing down upon the air with its
wings, which are made especially for this purpose. The bird's tail acts as
a rudder during flight.

Method — The hen, it is hoped will by this time be tame enough so that
the teacher may spread open her wings for the children to see. In addi-
tion, have a detached wing of a fowl such as are used in farm houses
instead of a whisk-broom.

Observations — i. Do you think a bird's wings correspond to our
arms? If so why?

2. Why do birds flap their wings when they start to fly?

3. Can you press against the air with a fan?

4. Why do you jump so high with a vaulting pole? Do you think
the bird uses the air as you use the pole?

5. How are the feathers arranged on the wing so that the bird can
use it to press down on the air?

Bird Study

6. If you carry an umbrella on a windy morning, which catches
more wind, the under or the top side? Why is this? Does the curved
surface of the wing act in the same way?

7. Take a wing feather. Are the barbs as long on one side of the
quill as on the other? Do they lie at the same angle from the quill on
both sides ? If not why ?

8. Which side of the quill lies on the outer side and which on the
inner side of the wing?

9. Is the quill of the feather curved?

10. Which side is uppermost in the wing, the convex or the concave
side? Take a quill in one hand and press the tip against the other.
Which way does it bend easiest, toward the convex or the concave side?
What had this to do with the flight of the bird ?

11. If the bird flies by pressing the wings against the air on
the down stroke, why does it not push itself downward with its
wings on the up stroke?

12. What is the shape and arrangement of the feathers so as to
avoid pushing the bird back to earth when it lifts its wings?

13. Why do you have a rudder to a boat?

14. Do you think a bird could sail through the air without some-
thing to steer with? What is the bird's rudder?

15. Have you ever seen a young bird whose tail is not yet grown,
try to fly? If so, how did it act?

16. Does the hen when she flies keep the tail closed or open like
a fan?

1 7 . Compare a tail feather with a wing feather and describe the
difference.

Engraved by Elsa L. Ames.

36 Handbook of Nature-Study

EYES AND EARS OF BIRDS

TeacJier's Story

HE hen's eyes are placed at the side of the head so that
she cannot see the same object with both eyes at the
same time, and thus she has the habit of looking at us
first with one eye and then the other to be sure she
sees correctly; also the position of the hen's eyes give
her a command of her entire environment. All birds
have much keener eyes than have we; and they can
adjust their eyes for either near or far vision much
more effectively than we can ; the hawk, flying high in the air, can see
the mouse on the ground.

There is a wide range of colors found in the eyes of birds; white, red
blue, yellow, brown, gray, pink, purple and green are found in the iris of
different species. The hen's eye consists of a black pupil at the center,
which must always be black in any eye, since it is a hole through which
enters the image of the object. The iris of the hen's eye is yeUow; there
is apparently no upper lid but the lower hd comes up during the process of
sleeping. When the bird is drowsy the little film lid comes out from the
corner of the eye and spreads over it like a veil; just at the corner of our
own eye, next the nose, is the remains of this film Hd, although we cannot
move it as the hen does.

The hearing of birds is very acute, although the ear is simply a hole in
the side of the head in most cases, and is more or less covered with
feathers. The hen's ear is like this in many varieties; but in others and
in the roosters there are ornamental ear lobes.

LESSON IV
Eyes and Ears of Birds

Leading thought — The eyes and ears of birds are peculiar and very
efficient.

Methods — The hen or chicken and the rooster should be observed for
this lesson ; notes may be made in the poultry yard or in the schoolroom
when the birds are brought there for study.

Observations — i . Why does the hen turn her head first this side and
that as she looks at you? Can she see an object with both eyes at once?
Can she see well?

2. How many colors are there in a hen's eye? Describe the pupil
and the iris.

3. Does the hen wink as we do? Has she any eyehds?

4. Can you see the film hd? Does it come from above or below or
the inner or outer comer? When do you see this film lid?

5. Where are the hen's ears? How do they look? How can you
tell where the rooster's ears are?

6. Do you think the hen can see and hear well?

Bird Study 37

THE FORM AND USE OF BEAKS

Teacher's Story

INCE the bird uses its arms and hands for flying, it
has been obhged to develop other organs to take
their place, and of their work the beak does its full
hare. It is well to emphasize this point by letting
she children at recess play the game of trying to eat
tan apple or to put up their books and pencils with
their arms tied behind them; such an experiment
will show how naturally the teeth and feet come to the aid when the
hands are useless.

The; hen feeds upon seeds and insects which she finds on or in the
ground her beak is horny and sharp and acts not only as a pair of nip-
pers, but also as a pick as she strikes it into the soil to get the seed or
insect, having already made bare the place by scratching away the grass
or surface of the soil with her strong, stubby toes. The hen does not have
any teeth, nor does she need any, for her sharp beak enables her to seize
her food; and she does not need to chew it, since her gizzard does this for
her after the food is swallowed.

The duck's bill is broad, flat, and much softer than the hen's beak.
The duck feeds upon water insects and plants; it attains these by thrust-
ing its head down into the water, seizing the food and holding it fast while
the water is strained out through the sieve at the edges of the beak ; for
this use, a wide, flat beak is necessary. It would be quite as impossible
for a duck to pick up hard seeds with its broad, soft bill as it would for
the hen to get the duck's food out of the water with her narrow, horny
bill.

Both the duck and hen use their bills for cleaning and oiling their
feathers and for fighting also ; the hen strikes a sharp blow with her beak
making a wound like a dagger, while the duck seizes the enemy and
simply pinches hard. Both fowls also use their beaks for turning over the
eggs when incubating, and also as an aid to the feet when they make nests
for themselves.

The nostrils are very noticeable and are situated in the beak near the
base. However, we do not believe that birds have a keen sense of smell
since their nostrils are not surrounded by a damp, sensitive, soft surface
as are the nostrils of the deer and dog, this arrangement aiding these
animals to detect odor in a marvelous manner.

LESSON V
The Beak of a Bird

Leading thought — Each kind of bird has a beak especially adapted for
getting its food. The beak and feet of a bird are its chief weapons and
implements.

Methods — Study first the beak of the hen or chick and then that of
the duckling or gosling.

Observations — i. What kind of food does the hen eat and where and
how does she find it in the field or gaiden? How is her beak adapted to
get this food? If her beak were soft like that of a duck could she peck so
hard for seeds and worms? Has the hen any teeth? Does she need any?

38 Handbook of Nature-Study

2. Compare the bill of the hen with that of the duck? What are
the differences in shape? Which is the harder?

3. Note the saw teeth along the edge of the duck's bill. Are these
for chewing? Do they act as a strainer? Why does the duck need to
strain its food?

4. Could a duck pick up a hen's food from the earth or the hen
strain out a duck's food from the water? For what other things than
getting food do these fowls use their bills?

5. Can you see the nostrils in the bill of a hen? Do they show
plainer in the duck? Do you think the hen can smell as keenly as the
duck?

Supplementary reading — The Bird Book, p. 99; The First Book of
Birds, pp. 95-7; Mother Nature's Children, Chapter VIII.

"It is said that nature-study teaching should be accurate, a statement that every good
teacher will admit without debate; but accuracy is often interpreted to mean complete-
ness, and then tJie statement cannot pass unchallenged. To study 'the dandelion,' 'the
robin,' ivith emphasis on the particle 'the', working out the complete structure, may be
good laboratory work i)i botany or zoology for advanced pupils, but it is not an elemen-
tary educational process. It contributes nothing more to accuracy than does the natural
order of leaving untouched all those phases of the subject that are out of the child's reach;
while it may take out the life and spirit of the work, and the spiritual quality may be
the very part that is -most wortli the while. Oilier ivork may provide the formal 'drill' ;
this should supply the quality and vivacity. Teachers often say to me that their
children have done excellent work with these complete methods, and they show me the
essays and drawings; but this is no proof that the work is commendable. Children
can be made to do many things that they ought not to do and that lie beyond them. We
all need to go to school to children." — "The Outlook to Nature," L. H. Bailey.

"Weather and wind and waning moon.

Plain and hilltop under the sky,
Ev'nijig, morning and blazing noon,

Brother of all the ivorld am I .
The pine-tree, linden and the maize.

The insect, squirrel and the kine.
All — natively they live their days —

As they live theirs, so I live mine,
I know not where, I know not what: —

Believing none and doubting none
What'er befalls it counteth not, —

Nature and Time and I are one."

— L. H. Bailey.

Bird Study

THE FEET OF BIRDS

Teacher's Story

BVIOUSLY, the hen is a digger of the soil; her claws
are long, strong and slightly hooked, and her feet
and legs are covered with homy scales as a protec-
tion from injury when used in scratching the hard
earth, in order to lay bare the seeds and insects
hiding there. The hen is a very good runner indeed.
She lifts her wings a little to help, much as an
athletic runner uses his arms, and so can cover
ground with amazing rapidity, her strong toes giv-
ing her a firm foothold. The track she makes is
very characteristic; it consists of three toe-marks
projecting forward and one backward. A bird's
toes are numbered thus:
A duck
has the same number of toes as
the hen, but there is a membrane,
called the web, which joins the
second, third and fourth toes, mak-
ing a fan-shaped foot; the first or
the hind toe has a little web of its
own. A webbed foot is first of all
a paddle for propelling its owner
through the water; it is also a very useful foot on the shores of ponds
and streams, since its breadth and flatness prevent it from sinking into
the soft mud.

The duck's legs are shorter than those of the hen and are placed farther
back and wider apart. The reason for this is, they are essentially swim-
ming organs and are not fitted for scratching nor for running. They are
placed at the sides of the bird's body so that they may act as paddles, and
are farther back so that they may act like the wheel of a propeller in

Duck's foot and hen's foot with
toes numbered.

Rouen ducks. The Rouens arc colored like the Wild Mallards.

40 Haiidbook of Nature-Sttidy

pushing the bird along. We often laugh at a duck on land, since its short
legs are so far apart and so far back that its walk is necessarily an awk-
ward waddle; but we must always remember that the duck is naturally
a water bird, and on the water its movements are graceful. Think once,
how a hen would appear if she attempted to swim! The duck's body is
so illy balanced on its short legs that it cannot run rapidly; and if chased
even a short distance, will fall dead from the effort, as many a country
child has discovered to his sorrow when he tried to drive the ducks home
from the creek or pond to coop. The long, hind claw of the hen enables
her to clasp a roost firmly during the night; a duck's foot could not do
this and the duck sleeps squatting on the ground. However, the Mus-
covy ducks, which are not good swimmers, have been known to perch.

LESSON VI
The ,Feet of Birds

Leading thought — The feet of _^birds are shaped so as to assist the bird in
getting its food as well as for locomotion.

MetJiods — The pupils should have opportunity to observe the chicken
or hen and a duck as they move about; they should also observe the
duck swimming.

Observations — i. Are the toes of the hen long and strong? Have
they long, sharp claws at their tips?

2 . How are the legs and feet of the-hen covered and protected ?

3. How are the hen's feet and legs fitted for scratching the earth,
and why does she wish to scratch the earth?

4. Can a hen run rapidly? AVhat sort of a track does she make?

5. You number your fingers with the thumb as number one and the
little finger as five. How do you think the hen's toes are numbered?

6. Has the duck as many toes as the hen? What is the chief
difference between the feet of the duck and the hen ?

7. Which of the duck's toes are connected by a web? Does the
web extend to the tips of the toes? What is the web for and how does it
help the duck ?

8. Are the duck's legs as long as the hen's? Are they placed
farther forward or farther back than those of the hen? Are they farther
apart?

9. Can a duck run as well as a hen? Can the hen swim at all?

10. Where does the hen sleep and how does she hold on to her
perch? Could the duck hold on to a perch? Does the duck need to
perch while sleeping?

Bird SUidy

CHICKEN WAYS

Teacher's Story

AME Nature certainly pays close attention to details,
and an instance of this is the little tooth on the tip of
the upper mandible of the young chick to aid it in
breaking out of its egg-shell prison ; and since a tooth
in this particular place is of no use later, it disappears.
The children are delighted with the beauty of a fluffy,
little chick with its bright, questioning eyes and its life
of activity as soon as it is freed from the shell. What
a contrast to the blind, bare, scrawny young robin,
which seems to be all mouth ! The difference between
the two is fundamental since it gives a character for separating ground
birds f.om perching birds. The young partridge, quail, turkey and chick
are clothed and active and ready to go with the mother in search of food
as soon as they are hatched; while the young of the perching birds are
naked and blind, being kept warm by the brooding mother, and fed and
nourished by food brought by their parents, until they are large enough to
leave the nest. The down which covers the young chick differs from the
feathers which come later; the down has no quill but consists of several
flossy threads coming from the same root; later on, this down is pushed
out and off by the true feathers which grow from the same sockets. The

An anxious stepmother.

Handbook of Nature-Study

pupils should see that the down is so soft that the little, fluffy wings of the
chick are useless until the real wing feathers appear.

We chew food until it is soft and fine, then swallow it, but the chick
swallows it whole and after being softened by juices from the stomach it
passes into a little mill, in which is gravel that the chicken has swallowed,
which helps to grind the food. This mill is called the gizzard and the
pupils should be taught to look carefully at this organ the next time they
have chicken for dinner. A chicken has no muscles in the throat, like
ours, to enable it to swallow water as we do. Thus, it has first to fill its

. . ,^Bf^M^U(^:l^^^h.^-^~^^'^..^<^j%,

,£!L

^'Churns.

beak with water, then hold it up so the water will flow down the throat of
itself. As long as the little chick has its mother's wings to sleep under, it
does not need to put its head under its own wing; but when it grows up
and spends the night upon a roost, it always tuck» its head under its wing
while sleeping.

The conversation of the barnyard fowl covers many elemental emo-
tions and is easily comprehended. It is well for the children to under-
stand from the first that the notes of birds mean something definite. The
hen clucks when she is leading her chicks afield so that they will know
where she is in the tall grass; the chicks follow "cheeping" or "peeping,"
as the children say, so that she will know where they are ; but if a chick

bird Study

feels itself lost its "peep" becomes loud and disconsolate; on the other
hand, there is no sound in the world so full of cosy contentment as the low
notes of the chick as it cuddles under the mother's wing. When a hen
finds a bit of food she utters rapid notes which call the chicks in a hurry,
and when she sees a hawk she gives a warning "q-r-r" which makes every
chick run for cover and keep quiet. When hens are taking their sun and
dust baths together, they evidently gossip and we can almost hear them
saying, "Did you not think Madam Dorking made a great fuss over her egg
to-day?" Or, "that overgrown young rooster has got a crow to match his
legs, has he not?" Contrast these low tones to the song of the hen as she
issues forth in the first warm days of spring and gives to the world one of
the most joyous songs of all nature. There is quite a different quality in
the triumphant cackle of a hen telling to the world that she has laid an
egg and the cackle which comes from being startled. When a hen is
sitting or is not allowed to sit, she is nervous and irri able and voices her
mental state by scolding. When she is really afraid, she squalls and when
seized by an enemy, she utters long, horrible squawks. The rooster
crows to assure his flock that all is well; he also crows to show other
roosters what he thinks of himself and of them. The rooster also has
other notes ; he will question you as you approach him and his flock, and
he will give a warning note when he sees a hawk; when he finds some
dainty tidbit he calls his flock of hens to him and they usually arrive just in
time to see him swallow the morsel.

When roosters fight, they confront each other with their heads lowered
and then try to seize each other by the back of the neck with their beaks,
or strike each other with the wing spurs, or tear with the leg spurs.
Weasels, skunks, rats, hawks and crows are the most common enemies of
the fowls, and often a rooster will attack one of these invaders and fight
vaHantly; the hen will also fight if her brood is disturbed.

*^WeU, who are you?"

Handbook of Nature-Study

5-
6.

LESSON VII

Chicken Ways

Leading thought — Chickens have interesting habits of Hfe and extensive
conversational powers.

Method — For this lesson it is necessary that the pupils observe the
inhabitants of the poultry yard and answer these questions a few at a
time.

Observations — i. Did the chick get out of the egg by its own efforts?
For what use is the little tooth which is on the tip of the upper part of a
young chicken's beak? Does this remain?

2. What is the difference between the down of the chick and the
feathers of the hen ? The little chick has wings; why can it not fly ?

3. Why is the chick just hatched so pretty and downy, while the
young robin is so bare and ugly? Why is the young chick able to see
while the young robin is blind?

4. How does the 3^oung chick get its food?
Does the chick chew its food before swallowing? If not, why?
How does the chick drink? Why does it drink this way?
Where does the chick sleep at night? Where will it sleep when

it is grown up ?

8. Where does the hen put her head when she is sleeping?

9. How does the hen call her chicks when she is with them in the
field?

How does she call them to food?

How does she tell them that there is a hawk in sight?

12. What notes does the chick
make when it is following its
mother? When it gets lost?
When it cuddles under her wing?

13. What does the hen say
when she has laid an egg? When
she is frightened? When she is
disturbed while sitting on eggs?
When she is grasped by an enemy ?
How do hens talk together? De-
scribe a hen's song.

14. When does the rooster
crow? What other sounds does
he make?

15. With what weapons does
the rooster fight his rivals and his
enemies?

16. What are the natural
enemies of the barnyard fowls and

Parts of the bird labeled. how do they escape them?

This figure should be placed on the blackboard Supplementary reading — T r U 6

where pupils may consult it when studying t,- 1 r^, ■ tvt'ii

colors and markings of birds. Bird StOHCS, Miller p. I0 2.

10.
II.

Bird Study

Pigeon houses of the upper Nile.
Photo by J. H. Comstock.

PIGEONS

Teacher's Story

'HERE is a mention of domesticated pigeons by writers
three thousand years ago ; and PUny relates that the
Romans were fervent pigeon fanciers at the beginning
of the Christian era. All of our domestic varieties of
pigeons have been developed from the Rock pigeon, a
wild species common in Europe and Asia. The carrier
pigeon was probably the first to be specially developed
because of its usefulness ; its love and devotion to mate
and young and its homesickness when separated from them were used by
man for his own interests. When a knight of old started off on a
Crusade or to other wars, he took with him several pigeons from the home
cote ; and after riding many days he wrote a letter and tied it to the neck
or under the wing of one of his birds, which he then set free, and it flew
home with its message; later he would set free another in like manner.
The drawback to this correspondence was that it went only in one direc-
tion; no bird from home brought message of cheer to the wandering
knight. Now-a-days mail routes, telegraph wires and wireless currents
enmesh our globe and the pigeon as a carrier is out-of-date; but fanciers
still perfect the homer breed and train pigeons for very difficult flight
competitions, some of them a distance of hundreds of miles. Recently
a homer made one thousand miles in two days, five hours and fifty
minutes. Read to the pupils "Arnaux" in Animal Heroes by Thompson
Seton to give them an idea of the life of a homing pigeon.

Handbook of Nature-Study

The natural food of pigeons is grain; we feed them cracked
corn, wheat, peas, Kafir corn, millet and occasionally hemp seed; it

is best to feed mixed rations
as the birds tire of the
monotonous diet. Pigeons
should be fed twice a day;
the pigeon is the only bird
which can drink like a
horse, that is, with the
head lowered. The walk
of a pigeon is accom-
panied by a peculiar nod-
ding as if the head were in
some way attached to the
feet, and this movement
sends waves of iridescent
colors over the bird's
plumage. The flight of the
pigeon is direct without
soaring, the wings move
rapidly and steadily, the
birds circling and sailing as
"Game Leg" a homer pigeon of notable achievement they start or alight. The
(Courtesy of Country Life in America.) CrOW flaps hard and then

sails for a distance when
it is inspecting the ground, while the hawk soars on motionless
wings. It requires closer attention to understand the language of the
pigeon than that of the hen, nor has it so wide a range of expression as
the latter; however, some emotions are voiced in the cooing, v/hich the
children will understand.

The nest is built of grass and twigs; the mother pigeon lays two eggs
for a sitting; but in some breeds a pair will raise from seven to twelve
broods per year. The eggs hatch in from sixteen to eighteen days, and
both parents share the labors of incubating. In the case of the homer
the father bird sits from lo a. m. to 4 p. m. and the mother the remainder
of the day and night. The devotion of pigeons to their mates and to their
young is great, and has been sung by the poets and praised by the philoso-
phers during many ages ; some breeds mate for life. The young pigeons
or squabs are fed in a peculiar manner; in the crops of both parents is
secreted a cheesy substance, known as pigeon milk. The parent seizes
the beak of the squab in its own and pumps the food from its own crop
into the stomach of the young. This nutritious food is given to the squalD
for about five days and then replaced by grain which is softened in the
parents' stomachs, until the squabs are old enough to feed themselves.
Rats, mice, weasels, and hawks are the chief enemies of the pigeons;
since pigeons cannot fight, their only safety lies in flight.

As the original Rock pigeon built in caves, our domesticated varieties
naturally build in the houses we provide for them. A pigeon house
should not be built for more than fifty pairs ; it should be well ventilated
and kept clean; it should face the south or east and be near a shallow,
running stream if possible. The nest boxes should be twelve inches
square and nine inches in height with a door at one side, so

Bird Stitdy

that the nest may remain hidden. In front of each door there
should be a little shelf to act as a balcony on which the resting parent bird
may sit and coo to
relieve the monotony
of the sitter. Some
breeders make a
double compartment
instead of providing a
balcony, while in
Egypt branches are
inserted in the wall
just below the doors
of the very ornamen-
tal pigeon houses.
The houses should be
kept clean and white-
washed with lime
to which carbolic acid
is added in the pro-
portion of one tea- Poiiter pigeons
spoonful of acid to two P^oto t.y J. Demary

gallons of the wash; the leaf stems of tobacco should be given to the
pigeons as material for building their nests, so as to help keep in check the
bird lice. There should be near the pigeon house plenty of fresh water
for drinking and bathing; also a box of table salt, and another of cracked
oyster shell and another of charcoal as fine as ground coffee. Salt is very
essential to the health of pigeons. The house should be high enough from
the ground to keep the inmates safe from rats and weasels.

LESSON VIII

Pigeons

Leading thought — The pigeons differ in appearance from other birds
and also in their actions. Their nesting habits are very interesting and
there are many things that may be done to make the pigeons comfortable.
They were, in ancient days, used as letter carriers.

Methods — If there are pigeons kept in the neighborhood, it is best to
encourage the pupils to observe these birds out-of-doors. Begin the
work with an interesting story and with a few questions which will arouse
the pupils' interest in the birds. A pigeon in a cage in the schoolroom for
a special lesson on the bird's appearance, is desirable but not necessary.

Observations — i. For an out-of-door exercise during recess let the
pupils observe the pigeon and tell the colors of the beak, eyes, top of the
head, back, breast, wings, tail, feet and claws. This exercise is excellent
training to fit the pupils to note quickly the colors of the wild birds.

2. On what do pigeons feed? Are they fond of salt?

3. Describe how a pigeon drinks. How does it differ in this respect
from other birds?

4. Describe the peculiar movement of the pigeon when walking.

5. Describe the pigeon's flight. Is it rapid, high in the air, do the
wings flap constantly, etc? What is the chief difference between the
flight of pigeons, crows or hawks?

48 Handbook of Nattire-Study

6. Listen to the cooing of a pigeon and see if you can understand
the different notes.

7. Describe the pigeon's nest. How many eggs are laid at a time?

8. Describe how the parents share the labors in hatching the eggs,
and how long after the eggs are laid before the young hatch ?

9. How do the parents feed their young and on what material?

10. What are the enemies of pigeons and how do they escape from
them? How can we protect them?

11. Describe how a pigeon house should be built.

12. What must you do for pigeons to keep them healthy and com-
fortable ?

13. How many breeds of pigeons do you know? Describe them.
Supplementary reading — "Amaux" in Animal Heroes, Thompson

Seton; Audubon Leaflet, Nos. 2 and 6; Neighbors with Wings and Fins
Ch. XV; Noah and the Dove, The Bible; Daddy Darwin's Dove Cote,
Mrs. Ewing; Squab Raising, Bui. of U. S. Dept. Agr.

For my mvn part I readily concur with you in supposing that housedoves are
derived from the small blue rock-pigeon, Colurnba livia, for many reasons. * * *
But what is worth a hundred arguments is, the instance you give in Sir Roger Mostyn's
housedoves in Caernarvonshire ; ivhich, though tempted by plenty of food and gentle
treatment, can never be prevailed on to inhabit their cote for any time; but as soon as they
begin to breed, betake themselves to the fastnesses of Ormshead, and deposit their young
in safety amidst the inaccessible caverns and precipices of that stupendous promontory.
"You may drive nature out ivith a pitchfork, but she will always return:"

"Naturam expellas furca * * * tamen usque recurret."
Virgil, as a familiar occurrence, by way of simile, describes a dove haunting the
cavern of a rock in such engaging numbers, that I cannot refrain from quoting the
passage.

"Qualis spelunca subito commota Columba,
Cui domus, et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi,
Fcrtul in arva volans, plausunique exterrita pennis
Dat tecto ingentem, ntox acre lapsa quieto,
Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas."

(Virg. Aen. v. 213-217).

".45 when a dove her rocky hold forsakes,
Roused, in a fright her sounding ivings she shakes;
The cavern rings with clattering: — out she flies.
And leaves her callow care, and cleaves the skies;
At first she flutters: — but at length she springs
To smoother flight, and shoots upon her wings."

CDryden's Translation).

White of Selbourne.

Bird Study 49

THE CANARY AND THE GOLDFINCH

Teacher's Story

N childhood the language of birds and animals is learned
unconsciously. What child, who cares for a canary, does
not understand its notes which mean loneliness, hunger,
eagerness, joy, scolding, fright, love and song!

The pair of canaries found in most cages are not natural
mates. The union is one de convenance, forced upon them
P^ by people who know little of bird aflfinities. We could
hardly expect that such a mating would be always happy.
The singer, as the male is called, is usually arbitrary and tyrannical and
does not hesitate to lay chastising beak upon his spouse. The expression
of affection of the two is usually very practical, consisting of feeding each
other with many beguiling notes and much fluttering of wings. The
singer may have several songs ; whether he has many or few depends upon
his education; he usually shows exultation when singing by throwing the
head back like a prima-donna, to let the music well forth. He is usually
brighter yellow in color with more brilliantly black markings than his
mate ; she usually has much gray in her plumage. But there are about
fifty varieties of canaries and each has distinct color and markings.

Canaries should be given a more varied diet than most people think.
The seeds we buy or that we gather from the plantain or wild grasses, they
eat eagerly. They like fresh, green leaves of lettuce and chickweed and
other tender herbage; they enjoy bread and milk occasionally. There
should always be a piece of cuttle-fish bono or san''' and gravel where they
can get it, as they need grit for digestion. Abce all, they should have
fresh water. Hard-boiled egg is given them while nesting. The canary
seed which we buy for them is the product of a grass in the Canary Islands.
Hemp and rape seed are also sold for canary food.

The canary's beak is wide and sharp and fitted for shelling seeds; it is
not a beak fitted for capturing insects. The canary, when drinking, does
not have to lift the beak so high in the air in order to swallow the water as
do some birds. The nostrils are in the beak and are easily seen; the ear
is hidden by the feathers. The canary is a fascinating little creature
when it shows interest in an object; it has such a knowing look, and its
perfectly round, black eyes arc so intelligent and cunning. If the canary
winks, the act is so rapid as to be seen with difficulty, but when drowsy,
the Httle inner lid appears at the inner corner of its eye and the outer lids
close so that we may be sure that they are there; the lower lid covers
more of the eye than the upper.

The legs and toes are covered with scale armor; the toes have long,
curved claws that are neither strong nor sharp but are especially fitted for
holding to the perch ; the long hind toe with its stronger claw makes com-
plete the grasp on the twig. When the canary is hopping about on the
bottom of the cage we can see that its toes are more fitted for holding to
the perch than for walking.

When the canary bathes, it ducks its head and makes a great splashing
with its wings and likes to get thoroughly wet. Afterward, it sits all
bedraggled and "humped up" for a time and then usually preens its
feathers as they dry. When going to sleep, it at first fluffs out its feathers
and squats on the perch, draws back its head and looks very drowsy.

Hajtdbook of N atiire-Study

Later it tucks its head under its wing for the night, and then looks like a
little ball of feathers on the perch.

Canaries make a great fuss when building their nest. A pasteboard
box is usually given them with cotton and string for lining; usually one
pulls out what the other puts in; and they both industriously tear the
paper from the bottom of the cage to add to their building material.
Finally, a make-shift of a nest is completed and the eggs are laid. If the
singer is a good husband, he helps incubate the eggs and feeds his mate
and sings to her frequently ; but often he is quite the reverse and abuses
her abominably. The nest of the caged bird is very different in appear-
ance from the neat nests of grass, plant down, and moss which the w^ild
ancestors of these birds made in some safe retreat in the shrubs or ever-
greens of the Canary Islands. The canary eggs are pale blue, marked
with reddish-brown. The incubation period is 13 to 14 days. The
young are as scrawny and ugly as most little birds and are fed upon food
partially digested in the parents' stomachs. Their first plumage resem-
bles that of the mother usually.

In their wild state in the Canary and Azore Islands, the canaries are
olive green above with golden yellow breasts. When the heat of spring
begins, they move up the mountains to cooler levels and come down again
in the winter. They may rear three or four broods on their way up the
mountains, stopping at successive heights as the season advances, until
finally they reach the high peaks.

THE GOLDFIXCH OR THISTLE BIRD

.4 pair of goldfinches.

fCourtesy of Audubon Educational
Leaflet No. 17).

black cap but keeps his black wings and tail.

The goldfinches are bird midgets
but their songs are so sweet and
reedy that they seem to fill the
world with music more eft'ectually
than many larger birds. They
are fond of the seeds of wild
grass, and especially so of thistle
seed ; and they throng the pastures
and fence corners where the thistles
hold sway. In summer, the male
has bright yellow plumage with
a little black cap "pulled down
over his nose" like that of a
grenadier. He has also a black
tail and wings with white-tipped
coverts and primaries. The tail
feathers have white on their inner
webs also, which does not show
when the tail is closed. The female
has the head and back brown and
the under parts yellowish white,
with wings and tail resembling
those of the male except that they
are not so vividly black. In
winter the male dons a dress more
like that of his mate; he loses his

Bird Study 51

The song of the goldfinch is exquisite and he sings during the entire
period of his golden dress; he sings while flying as well as when at rest.
The flight is in itself beautiful, being wave-like up and down, in graceful
curves. Mr. Chapman says when on the down half of the curve the male
sings "Per-chick or-ree." The goldfinch's call notes and alarm notes are
very much like those of the canary.

Since the goldfinches live so largely upon seeds of grasses, they stay
with us in small numbers during the winter. During this period both
parents and young are dressed in olive green, and their sweet call notes
are a surprise to us of a cold, snowy morning, for they are associated in our
memory with summer. The male dons his winter suit in October.

The goldfinch nest is a mass of fluffiness. These are the only birds
that make feather beds for their young. But, perhaps, we should say
beds of down, since it is the thistle down which is used for this mattress.
The outside of the nest consists of fine shreds of bark or fine grass closely
woven ; but the inner portion is a mat of thistle down — an inch and a half
thick of cushion for a nest which has an opening of scarcely three inches;
sometimes the outside is ornamented with lichens. The nest is usually
placed in some bush or tree, often in an evergreen, and not more than 5 or
6 feet from the ground; but sometimes it is placed 30 feet high. The
eggs are from four to six in number and bluish white in color. The female
builds the nest, her mate cheering her with song meanwhile; he feeds her
while she is incubating and helps feed the young. A strange thing about
the nesting habits of the goldfinches is that the nest is not built until
August. It has been surmised that this nesting season is delayed until
there is an abundance of thistle down for building material. Audubon
Leaflet No. 17 gives special information about these birds and also
furnishes an outline of the birds for the pupils to color.

LESSON IX

The Canary and the Goldfin'ch

Leading thought — The canary is a very close relative of the common
wild goldfinch. If we compare the habits of the two we can understand
how a canary might live if it were free.

Method — Bring a canary to the schoolroom and ask for observations.
Request the pupils to compare the canary with the goldfinches which are
common in the summer. The canary offers opportunity for very close
observation which will prove excellent training for the pupils for beginning
bird study.

Observations — i. If there are two canaries in the cage are they
always pleasant to each other? Which one is the "boss?" How do they
show displeasure or bad temper? How do they show affection for each
other?

2. Which one is the singer? Does the other one ever attempt to
sing? What other notes do the canaries make besides singing? How do
they greet you when you bring their food? What do they say when they
are lonesome and hungry?

3. Does the singer have more than one song? How does he act
while singing? Why does he throw back his head like an opera singer
when singing?

52 Handbook of Nature-Study

4. Are the canaries all the same color? Wha-t is the difference in
color between the singer and the mother bird? Describe the colors of
each in your note book as follows: Top and sides of head, back, tail,
wings, throat, breast and under parts?

5. What does the canary eat? What sort of seeds do we buy for it?
What seeds do we gather for it in our garden ? Do the goldfinches live on
the same seeds? What does the canary do to the seeds before eating
them ? What tools does he use to take off the shells ?

6. Notice the shape of the canary's beak. Is it long and strong like
a robin's? Is it wide and sharp so that it can shell seeds? If you should
put an insect in the cage would the canary eat it?

7. Why do we give the canary cuttlebone? Note how it takes off
pieces of the bone. Could it do this if its beak were not sharp?

8. Note the actions of the birds when they drink. Why do they do

this?

9. Can you see the nostrils? Where are they situated? Why can

you not see the ear?

10. When the canary is interested in looking at a thing how does it
act? Look closely at its eyes? Does it wink? How does it close its
eyes? When it is drowsy can you see the little inner lid come from the
comer of the eye nearest the beak? Is this the only lid?

11. How are the legs and feet covered? Describe the toes. Com-
pare the length of the claw with the length of the toe. What is the shape
of the claw? Do you think that such shaped claws and feet are better
fitted for holding to a branch than for walking? Note the arrangement
of the toes when the bird is on its perch. Is the hind toe longer and
stronger? If so, why? Do the canaries hop or walk about the bottom

of the cage ?

12. What is the attitude of the canary when it goes to sleep at night?
How does it act when it takes a bath ? How does it get the water over its
head ? Over its back ? What does it do after the bath ? If we forget to
put in the bath dish how does the bird get its bath?

NESTING HABITS TO BE OBSERVED IN THE SPRING

13. AVhen the canaries are ready to build a nest what material do
we furnish them for it? Does the father bird help the mother to build
the nest? Do they strip off the paper on the bottom of the cage for nest
material? Describe the nest when it is finished.

14. Describe the eggs carefully. Does the father bird assist m
sitting on the eggs? Does he feed the mother bird when she is sitting?

1 5* How long after the eggs are laid before the young ones hatch?
Do both parents feed the young? Do they swallow the food first and
partially digest it before giving it to the young?

16. How do the very young birds look? What is their appearance
when they leave the nest? Does the color of their plumage resemble
that of the father or the mother?

17. Where did the canaries originally come from? Find the place

on the map.

Supplementary reading— "A Caged Bird," Sarah Ome Jewett m bongs

of Nature, p. 75; True Bird Stories, Miller.

Bird Study c^

The Goldfinch

Leading thought — Goldfinches are seen at their best in late summer or
September when they appear in flocks wherever the thistle seeds are
found in abundance. Goldfinches so resemble the canaries in form, color,
song and habits that they are called wild canaries.

Method — The questions for this lesson should be given to the pupils
before the end of school in June. The answers to the questions should be
put in their field note-books and the results be reported to the teacher in
class when the school begins in the autumn.

Observations—!. Where do you find the goldfinches feeding? How
can you distinguish the father from the mother birds and from the young
ones in color?

2. Describe the colors of the male goldfinch and also of the female as
follows : Crown, back of head, back, tail, wings, throat, breast and lower
parts. Describe in particular the black cap of the male.

3. Do you know the song of the goldfinch? Is it like the song of the
canary? What other notes has the goldfinch?

4. Describe the peculiar flight of the goldfinches. Do they fly high
in the air? Do you see them singly or in flocks usually?

5. Where do the goldfinches stay during the winter? What change
takes place in the coat of the male during the winter? Why? What do
they live upon during the winter?

6. At what time of year do the goldfinches build their nests? Why
do they build these so much later than other birds? Describe the nest.
Where is it placed ? How far above the ground ? How far from a stream
or other water? Of what is the outside made? The lining? What is
the general appearance of the nest? Do you think the goldfinches wait
until the thistles are ripe in order to gather plenty of food for their young,
or to get the thistle down for their nests? What is the color of the eggs?

Supplementary reading — Trtie Bird Stories, Miller, pp. 6, g, 26, 45.
The Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 82; Our Birds and Their Nestlings,
Walker, pp. 180, 200.

Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop
From low-hung branches; little space they stop.
But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek.
Then off at once, as in a wanton freak;
Or perhaps, to show their black and golden wings;
Pausing upon their yellow flutterings.

— John Keats.

54 Haiidhook of Nature-Study

THE ROBIN

Teacher's Story

jOST of us think we know the robin well, but very few
of us know definitely the habits of this, our commonest
bird. The object of this lesson is to form in the pupils
a habit of careful observation, and enable them to read
for themselves the interesting story of this little life
which is lived every year before their eyes. Moreover,
a robin note-book, if well kept, is a treasure for any child; and the close
observation necessary for this lesson trains the pupils to note in a com-
prehending way the habits of other birds. It is the very best preparation
for bird study of the right sort.

A few robins occasionally find a swamp where they can obtain food to
nourish them during the northern winter, but for the most part, they go
in flocks to our Southern States where they settle in swamps and cedar
forests and live upon berries. They are killed in great numbers by the
native hunters who eat them or sell them for table use, a performance not
understandable to the northerner. The robins do not nest nor sing while
in Southland, and no wonder! When the robins first come to us in the
spring they feed on wild berries, being especially fond of those of the
Virginia creeper. As soon as the frost is out of the ground they begin
feeding on earthworms, cutworms, white grubs, and other insects. The
male robins come first, but do not sing until their mates arrive.

The robin is ten inches long and the English sparrow is only six and
one-third inches long; the pupils should get the sizes of these two birds
fixed in their minds for comparison in measuring other birds. The father
robin is much more decided in color than his mate; his beak is yellow,
there is a yellow ring about the eye and a white spot above it. The head
is black and the back slaty-brown ; the breast is brilliant reddish brown
or bay and the throat is white, streaked with black. The mother bird has
paler back and breast and has no black upon the head. The wings of both
are a little darker than the back, the tail is black with the two outer
feathers tipped with white. These white spots do not show except when
the bird is flying and are "call colors," that is, they enable the birds to
see each other and thus keep together when flying in flocks during the
night. The white patch made by the under tail-coverts serves a similar
purpose. The feet and legs are strong and dark in color.

The robin has many sweet songs and he may be heard in the earliest
dawn and also in the evenings; if he wishes to cheer his mate he may
burst into song at any time. He feels especially songful before the
summer showers when he seems to sing, "I have a theory, a theory, its
going to rain." And he might well say that he also has a theory, based
on experience, that a soaking shower will drive many of the worms and
larvae in the soil up to the surface where he can get them. Besides these
songs the robins have a great variety of notes which the female shares,
although she is not a singer. The agonizing, angry cries they utter when
they see a cat or squirrel must express their feelings fully ; while they give
a very different warning note when they see crow or hawk, a note hard to
describe, but which is a long, not very loud squeak.

A robin can run or hop as pleases him best, and it is interesting to see
one, while hunting earthworms run a little distance, then stop to bend the

Bird Study

head and listen for his prey, and when he finally seizes the earthworm he
braces himself on his strong legs and tugs manfully until he sometimes
almost falls over backward as the worm lets go its hold. The robins,
especially at nesting time, eat many insects as well as earthworms.

The beginning of a robin's nest is very interesting; much strong grass,
fine straw, leaves and rootlets are brought and placed on a secure support.
When enough of this material is collected and arranged, the bird goes to
the nearest mud puddle or stream margin and fills its beak with soft
mud and going back "peppers" it into the nest material, and after the
latter is soaked the bird gets into it and molds it to the body by nestling
and turning around and around. In one case which the author watched
the mother bird did this part of the building, although the father worked
industriously in bringing the other materials. After the nest is molded
but not yet hardened, it is lined with fine grass or rootlets. If the season
is very dry and there is no soft mud at hand, the robins can buiM without
the aid of this plaster. There are usually four eggs laid which are ex-
quisite greenish blue in color.

Both parents share the monotonous business of incubating, and in the
instance under the eyes of the author the mother bird was on the nest at
night; the period of incubating is from eleven to fourteen days. The
most noticeable thing about a very young robin is its wide, yellow-
margined mouth, which it opens like a satchel every time the nest is
jarred. This wide mouth cannot but suggest to anyone that it is meant

Robin oil nest.

56 Handbook of Nature-Study

to be stuffed, and the two parents work very hard to fill it. Both parents
feed the young and often the father feeds the mother bird while she is
brooding. Professor Treadwell experimented with young robins and
found that each would take 68 earthworms daily; these worms if laid
end to end would measure about 14 feet. Think of 14 feet of earthworm
being wound into the little being in the nest, no wonder that it grows so
fast! I am convinced that each pair of robins about our house has its
own special territory for hunting worms, and that any trespasser is
quickly driven off. The young bird's eyes are unsealed when they are
from six to eight days old, and by that time the feather tracts, that is,
the place where the feathers are to grow, are covered by the spine-like
pin-feathers; these feathers push the down out and it often clings to their
tips. In eleven days the birds are pretty weU feathered; their wing
feathers are fairly developed but alas, they have no tail feathers! When
a young robin flies from the nest he is a very uncertain and tippy young-
ster not having any tail to steer him while flying, nor to balance him when
ahghting.

It is an anxious time for the old robins when the young ones leave the
nest, and they flutter about and scold at any one who comes in sight, so
afraid are they that injury will come to their inexperienced young ones;
for some time the parents care for the fledglings, solicitously feeding them
and giving them warnings of danger. The young robin shows in its
plumage i,ts relation to the thrush family, for it is yellowish and very
spotted and speckled, especially the breast. The parents may raise
several broods, but they never use the same nest for two consecutive
broods, both because it may be infested with parasites and because it is
more or less soiled ; although the mother robin works hard to keep it
clean, carrying away all waste matter in her beak and dropping it.
Robins do not sing much after the breeding season is over until after they
have molted. They are fond of cherries and other pulp fruits and often
do much damage to such crops. The wise orchardist will plant a few
Russian mulberry trees at a reasonable distance from his cherry trees,
and thus, by giving the robins a fruit which they Hke better, and which
ripens a little earher, he may save his cherries. It has been proven con-
clusively that the robins are far more beneficial than damaging to the
farmer;' they destroy many noxious insects, two-thirds of their food the
entire year consisting of insects; during April and May they do a great
work in destroying cutworms.

The robins stay with us later than most migrating birds, not leaving
us entirely before November. Their chief enemies in northern cHmates
are cats, crows and squirrels. Cats should be taught to let birds alone
(see lesson on cat) or should be killed. The crows have driven the robins
into villages where they can build their nests under the protection of
man. If crows venture near a house to attack the robins, firing a gun at
them once or twice will give them a hint which they are not slow to take.
The robins of an entire neighborhood will attack a nest-robbing crow, but
usually too late to save the nestlings. The robins can defend themselves
fairly well against the red squirrel unless he steals the contents of the nest
while the owners are away. There can be no doubt that the same pair of
robins return to the same nesting place year after year. On the Cornell
Campus a robin lacking the white tip on one side of his tail was noted
to have returned fo the same particular feeding ground for several years;

Bird Study

and we are very certain that the same female bird built in the vines of our
piazza for seven consecutive years; it took two years to win her confi-
dence; but after that, she seemed to feel as if she were a part of the family
and regarded us all as friends. We were sure that during her fifth year
she brought a new young husband to the old nesting site; probably her
faithful old husband had been served for a dinner in some Tennessee hotel
during the previous winter.

Young robins.

Their spotted breasts show their relationship to the thrushes.
(Photo by Silas Lottridge).

LESSON X
The Robin

Leading thought — To understand all we can about the life and ways of
the robin.

Methods — For first and second grades this work may be done by
means of an extra blackboard, or what is far better, sheets of ordinary,
buff, manilla wrapping paper fastened together at the upper end, so that
they may be hung and turned over like a calendar. On the outside page
make a picture of a robin in colored chalk or crayons, coloring according
to the children's answers to questions of series "6". Devote each page
to one series of questions, as given below. Do not show these questions
to the pupils until the time is ripe for the observations. Those pupils
giving accurate answers to these questions should have their names on a
roll of honor on the last page of the chart.

58 Handbook of Nature-Study

For third or higher grades the pupils should have individual note-
books in which each one may write his own answers to the questions of the
successive series, which should be written on the blackboard at proper
time for the observations. This note-book should have a page about 6x8
inches and may be made of any blank paper. The cover or first page
should show the picture of the robin colored by the pupil, and may con-
tain other illustrative drawings, and any poems or other literature
pertinent to the subject. If prizes are awarded in the school, a bird book
should be given as award for the best note-book in the class.

Observations by pupils — Series a (To be given in March), i. At
what date did you see the first robin this year?

2. Where did the robin spend the winter; did it build a nest or sing
when in its winter quarters?

3. What does it find to eat when it first comes in the spring? How
doe's this differ from its ordinary food?

4. Does the robin begin to sing as soon as it comes North.''

Series b (To be given the first week of April) . i . How large is tHe
robin compared with the English sparrow?

2. What is the color of the beak? The eye? Around and above
the eye?

3. The color of the top of the head? The back? The throat?

The breast?

4. Do all the robins have equally bright colors on head, back and

breast ?

5. What is the color of the wing feathers?

6. What is the color of the tail feathers? Where is the white on
them? Can the white spots be seen except during flight of the bird?
Of what use to the robin are these spots?

7. Is there white on the underside of the robin as it flies over you?
Where ?

8. What is the color of the feet and legs?

Series c (To be given the second week of April).

1. At what time of day does the robin sing? Is it likely to sing
before a rain? How many different songs does a robin sing?

2. What note does a robin give when it sees a cat?

3. What sounds do the robins make when they see a crow or a
hawk ?

4. Does a robin run or walk or hop?

5. Do you think it finds the hidden earthworm by listening? If so

describe the act.

6. Describe how a robin acts as it pulls a big earthworm out of the
ground.

7. Do robins eat other food than earthworms?

Series d (To be given by the middle of April), i. At what date
did your pair of robins begin to build their nest?

2. Where was the nest placed and with what material was it begun ?

3. Can you tell the difference in colors between the father and
mother birds? Do both parents help in making the nest?

4. How and with what material is the plastering done? How is
the nest molded into shape? Do both birds do this part of the work?

Bird Study 59

5. Where is the mud obtained and how carried to the nest?

6. How is the nest hned?

5mc5 e (To be given a week after series d). i. What is the number
and color of the eggs in the nest?

2. Do both parents do the sitting? Which sits on the nest during
the night?

3. Give the date when the first nesthng hatches.

4. How does the young robin look? The color and size of its beak?
Why is its beak so large? Can it see? Is it covered with down? Com-
pare it to a young chick and describe the difference between the two.

5. What does the young robin do if it feels any jar against the nest?
Why does it do this?

6. Do the young robins make any noise?

7. AVhat do the parents feed their young? Do both parents feed
them? Are the young fed in turns?

8. Does each pair of robins have a certain territory for hunting
worms which is not trespassed upon by other robins?

Series f (To be given three days after series e). i. How long after
hatching before the young robin's eyes are open? Can 3'ou see where the
feathers are going to grow? How do the young feathers look?

2. How long after hatching before the yotnig birds are covered with
feathers?

3. Do their wing or tail feathers come first?

4. How is the nest kept clean?

5. Give the date when the young robins leave the nest? How do
the old robins act at this important crisis?

6. Describe the young robin's flight? Why is it so unstead}- ?

7. How do the young robins differ in colors of breast from the
parents?

8. Do the parents stay with the young for a time? "\A'hat care do
they give them?

9. If the parents raise a second brood do they use the same nest?

Series g (To be given for summer reading and observations), i.
Do the robins sing all summer? Why?

2. Do the robins take your berries and cherries? How can you
prevent them from doing this?

3. How does the robin help us?

4. How long does it stay with us in the fall?

5. What are the chief enemies of the robin and how does it fight or
escape them? How can we help protect it?

6. Do you think the same robins come back to us each year?
Supplementary reading — Nestlings of Forest and Marsh, Wheelock

p. 62; Our Birds and their Nestlings, Walker, pp. 26, 37, 41, 42;
True Bird Stories, Miller, pp. 37, 138; The Bird Book, Eckstrom, p.
248; Familiar Wild Animals, Lottridge; The History of the Robins,
Trimmer; Field Book of Wild Birds and their Music, Mathews, p. 246;
Birds in Their Relation to Man, Weed and Dearborn, p. 90; Songs of
Nature, Burroughs, p. 94; Wake Robin, Burroughs; Audubon
Leaflet No. 4.

6o Handbook of Nature-Study

THE BLUEBIRD

Teacher's Story

TERN as were our Pilgrim Fathers, they could not fail
to welcome certain birds with plumage the color of June
skies, whose sweet voices brought hope and cheer to
their homesick hearts at the close of that first, long,
hard winter of 1621. The red breasts of these birds
brought to memory the robins of old England and so
they were called "Blue robins"; and this name ex-
presses well the relationship implied, because the blue-
birds and robins of America are both members of the
thrush family, a family noted for exquisite song.

The bluebirds are usually ahead of the robins in the northward journey
and arrive in New York often amid the blizzards of early March, their
soft, rich "curly" notes bringing, even to the doubting mind, glad con-
victions of coming spring. There is a family resemblance between voices
of bluebird and robin, a certain rich quality of tone, but the robin's song
is far more assertive and complex than is the soft, "purling" song of the
bluebird, which has been vocahzed as "tru-al-ly, tru-al-ly." These love
songs cease with the hard work of feeding the nestlings in April, but may
be heard again as a prelude to the second brood in June. The red breast
of the bluebird is its only color resemblance to the robin, although the
young bluebirds and robins are both spotted, showing the thrush colors.
The robin is so much larger than the bluebird that commonly the relation-
ship is not noticed. This is easily explained because there is nothing to
suggest a robin in the exquisite cerulean blue of the bluebird's head, back,
tafllmd wings. This color is most brilliant when the bird is on the wing,
in the sunshine. However, there is a certain mirror-like quality in these
blue feathers ; and among leaf shadows or even among bare branches they
in a measure, reflect the surroundings and render the bird less noticeable.
The female is paler, being grayish blue above and with only a tinge of red-
brown on the breast; both birds are white beneath.

The bluebirds haunt open woods, fields of second growth and especially
old orchards. They flit about in companies of three or four until they
mate for nesting. While feeding, the bluebird usually sits on a low
branch keeping a keen eye on the ground below, now and then dropping
suddenly on an unsuspecting insect and then returning to its perch; it
does not remain on the ground hunting food as does the robin. The nest
is usually built in a hole in a tree or post and is made of soft grass. A
hollow apple tree is a favorite nesting site.

In building birdhouses we should bear in mind that a cavity about ten
inches deep and six inches in height and width will give a pair of bluebirds
room for building a nest. The opening should not be more than two or
two and one-half inches in diameter and there should be no threshold;
this latter is a very particular point. If there is a threshold or place to
alight upon, the sparrows are likely to dispute with the bluebirds and
drive them away, but the sparrow does not care for a place which has no
threshold. The box for the bluebird may be made out of old boards or
may be a section of an old tree trunk; it should be fastened from six to
fifteen feet above the ground, and should be in nowise noticeable in color
from its surroundings. To protect the nest from cats, barbed wire should

Bird Study

Bluebird at the entrance of its nest.
From Country Life m America,

be wound around the tree or post below the box. If the box for the nest
is placed upon a post the barbed wire will also protect it from the squirrels.
The eggs are bluish
white; the young birds,
in their first feathers, are
spotted on the back and
have whitish breasts mot-
tled with brown. The
food of the nestlings is
almost entirely insects.
In fact, this bird during
its entire life is a great
friend to man. The food
of the adult is more than
three-fourths insects and
the remainder is wild
berries and fruits, the
winter food being largely
mistletoe berries. It
makes a specialty of in-
jurious beetles, caterpil-
lars and grasshoppers,
and never touches any of
our cultivated fruits. We
should do everything in our power to encourage and protect these birds
from their enemies, which are chiefly cats, squirrels and English sparrows.
The migration takes place in flocks during autumn, but it is done in a
most leisurely manner with frequent stops where food is plenty. The
bluebirds we see in September are probably not the ones we have had with
us during the summer, but are those which have come from farther north.
They winter largely in the Gulf States; the writer has often heard them
singing in midwinter in Southern Mississippi. The bluebirds seem to be
the only ones that sing while at their winter resorts. They live the year
round in the Bermudas, contrasting their heavenly blue plumage with
the vivid red of the cardinals. The bluebird should not be confused with
the indigo bunting; the latter is darker blue and has a blue breast.

References— BuWetin, Some Common Birds in Their Relation to
Man, U. S. Dept. of Agr.; Bulletin, The Food of Nestling Birds, U. S.
Dept. of Agr.; Birds in Their Relation to Man, Weed & Dearborn, pp.
86-88; Nature-Study and Life, Hodge, chapters 18-21; Junior Audu-
bon Leaflets; Birds of Eastern North America, Chapman, 9. 403:
Field Book of Wild Birds and Their Music, Mathews, pp. 251-254;
Nature-Study in Elementary Schools, Wilson, p. 188.

" Winged lute that we call a bluebird,

You blend in a silver strain

The sound of the latighing waters.

The patter of spring's sweet rain,
The voice of the winds, the sunshine.

And fragrance of blossoming things.
Ah! You are an April poem,
. That God has dowered with wings."

— The Bluebird, Rexford.

62 Handbook of Nature-Study

LESSON XI
The Bluebird

Leading thought — The bluebird is related to the robins and thrushes
and is as beneficial as it is beautiful. We should study its habits and
learn how to make nesting boxes for it, and protect it in all ways.

Methods — The observations of this lesson must be made in the field
and by the pupils individually. Give to each an outline of questions to
answer through seeing. There should follow reading lessons on the blue-
bird's value to us and its winter migrations, and the lesson should end in
discussions of best way to build boxes for its use in nesting season, its
protection from cats and other enemies.

Observations — i. Which comes North earlier in spring the robin or
the bluebird?

2. How do the two resemble each other and differ from each other?

3. Describe the bluebirds' song. Do they sing all summer?

4. Describe the colors of the bluebird as follows: The head, back,
breast, under parts, wings, tail. How does the male bluebird differ from
his mate in colors?

5. Where were the bluebirds you saw? What were they doing?
If feeding, how did they act?

6. Can you see the color of the bluebird as plainly when it is in a tree
as when it is flying? If not, why?

7. Where do the bluebirds build their nests? Of what material
are the nests made? Do both parents work at the nest building?

8. What is the color of the eggs? How do the young birds look,
when old enough to leave the nest, as compared with their parents?

9. What do the bluebirds eat? How do they benefit us? Do they
do our fruit any injury?

10. What can we do to induce the bluebirds to live near our houses?
How can we protect them?

11. Where do the bluebirds spend the winter?

12. Make a colored picture of a bluebird. How can we tell the
bluebird from the indigo bunting?

13. What are the bluebirds' chief enemies?

Supplementary reading — Nestlings of Forest and Marsh, Wheelock,
p. 62; True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 12; How to Attract the Birds,
Blanchan; Bird Neighbors, Blanchan; Our Birds and their Nestlings,
Walker, p. 17; Famihar Wild Animals, Lottridge; Audubon Leaflet,
No. 24.

Hark! 'tis the bluebird's venturous strain

High on the old fringed elm at the gate —
Sweet-voiced, valiant on the swaying bough,

Alert, elate,
Dodging the fitful spits of snow.

New England' s poet-lanreate
Telling us Spring has come again! — Thomas Bailey Aldrich.

Bird Study

THE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH

Teacher's Story

"The busy nuthatch climbs his tree
Around the great bole spirally.
Peeping into wrinkles gray,
Under ruffled lichens gay.
Lazily piping one sharp note
From his silver maiUd throat."

— Maurice Thompson.

LIHTE and mellow is the ringing "ank, ank" note of the
nuthatch, and why need we allude to its nasal timbre!
While it is not a strictly musical note, it has a most enticing
quality and translates into sound the picture of bare-
branched trees and the feeling of enchantment which
permeates the forest in winter; it is one of the most
"woodsy" notes in the bird repertoire. And while the singer
of this note is not so bewitching as his constant chum
the chickadee, yet it has many interesting ways quite its
own. Nor is this "ank, ank," its only note. I have often
heard a pair talking to each other in sweet confidential syllables, "wit,
wit, wit" very different from the loud note meant for the world at large.
The nuthatches and chickadees hunt together all winter; it is no mere
business partnership but a matter of congenial tastes. The chickadees
hunt over the twigs and smaller branches, while the nuthatches usually
prefer the tree trunks and the bases of the branches; both birds hke
the looks of the world upside down, and while the chickadee hangs
head down from a twig, the nuthatch is quite likely to alight head down
on a tree bole, holding itself safely in this position by thrusting its toes
out at right angles to the body, thus getting a firm hold upon the bark.
Sometimes its foot will be twisted completely around, the front toes
pointed up the tree. The foot is well adapted for clinging to the bark as
the front toes are strong and the hind toe is very long and is armed with
a strong claw. Thus equipped, this bird runs about on the tree so
rapidly, it has earned the name of "tree mouse". It often ascends a
tree trunk spirally but is not so hidebound in this habit as is the brown
creeper. It runs up or down freely head first and never flops down
backwards Hke a woodpecker.

In color the nuthatch is bluish gray above with white throat and
breast and reddish underparts. The sides of the head are white; the
black cap extends back upon the neck but is not "pulled down" to the
eyes like the chickadees. The wing feathers are dark brown edged
with pale gray. The upper middle tail feathers are bluish like the back;
the others are dark brown and tipped with white in such a manner
that the tail when spread shows a broad white border on both sides.
The most striking contrast between the chickadee and nuthatch in
markings is that the latter lacks the black bib. However, its entire shape
is very different from that of the chickadee and its beak is long
and slender, being as long or longer than its head, while the beak of
the chickadee is a short, sharp, little pick. The bill of the nuthatch is
exactly fitted to reach in crevices of the bark and pull out hidmg
insects, or to hammer open the shell of nut or acorn and get both the

Handbook of Nature-Study

meat of the nut and the grub feeding upon it. It will wedge an acorn
into a seam in the bark and then throw back its head, woodpecker fashion,
and drive home its chisel beak. But it does not always use common

sense in this habit. I have often
seen one cut off a piece of suet, fly
off and thrust it into some crevice
and hammer it as hard as if it were
encased in a walnut shell. This
always seems bad manners, like
carrying off fruit from table d'hote;
but the nuthatch is polite enough in
using a napkin, for after eating the
suet, it invariably wipes its bill on a
branch, first one side then the other
most assiduously until it is perfectly
clean.

The nuthatches are a great
benefit to our trees in winter, for
then is when they hunt for hiding
pests on their trunks. Their food
consists of beetles, caterpillars,
pupae of various insects, also seeds
of ragweed, sunflowers, acorns, etc.
While the nuthatch finds much of

The white breasted nuthatch.

its food on trees, yet Mr. Torrey has seen it awkwardly turning over
fallen leaves hunting for insects, and Mr. Baskett says it sometimes
catches insects on the wing and gets quite out of breath from this un-
usual exercise.

It is only during the winter that we commonly see the nuthatches, for
during the nesting season, they usually retire to the deep woods where
they may occupy a cavity in a tree used by a woodpecker last year, or
may make a hole for themselves with their sharp beaks. The nest is lined
with leaves, feathers and hair; from five to nine creamy, speckled eggs are
the treasure of this cave.

LESSON XII

The Nuthatch

Leading thought — The nuthatch is often a companion of the chickadees
and woodpeckers. It has no black bib, like the chickadee, and it alights
on a tree trunk head downward, which distinguishes it from woodpeckers.

Methods — This bird, like the chickadee and downy, gladly shares the
suet banquet we prepare for them and may be observed at leisure while
"at table." The contrast between the habits of the nuthatch and those
of its companions make it a most valuable aid in stimulating close and
keen observation on the part of the pupils.

Observations — i. Where have you seen the nuthatches? Were
they with other birds? What other birds?

2. Does a nuthatch usually alight on the ends of the branches of a
tree or on the trunk and larger limbs? Does it usually alight head down
or up ? When it runs down the tree, does it go head first or does it back

Bird Study

down ? When it ascends the tree does it follow a spiral path ? Does it use
its tail for a brace when climbing, as does the downy ?

3. How are the nuthatch's toes arranged to assist it in climbing?
Are the three front toes of each foot directed downward when the bird
alights head downward? How does it manage its feet when in this
position ?

4. What is the general color of the nuthatch above and below?
The color of the top and sides of head? Color of Back? Wings? Tail?
Throat? Breast?

5. Does the black cap come down to the eyes on the nuthatch as
on the chickadee? Has the nuthatch a black bib?

6. What is the shape of the beak of the 'nuthatch? For what is it
adapted? How does it differ from the beak of the chickadee?

7. What is the food of the nuthatch? Where is it found? Does it
open nuts for the grubs or the nut meat? Observe the way it strikes its
beak into the suet, why does it strike so hard?

8. How would you spell this bird's note? Have you heard it give
more than one note?

9. How does the nuthatch benefit our trees? At what season does
it benefit them most? Why?

10. Where do the nuthatches build their nests? Why do we see
the nuthatches oftener in winter than in summer?

Handbook of Nature-Stiidy

THE CHICKADEE

Teacher's Story

"He is the hero of the woods; there are courage and good nature enough in that corn-
pact little body, which you may hide in your fist, to supply a whole groveful of May
songsters. He has the Spartan virtue of an eagle, the clieerfubiess of a thrush, the
tiimbleness of Cock Sparrow, the endurance of the sea-birds condensed into his tiny
frame, and there have been added a pcrtncss ayid ingenuity all Jiis own. His curiosity
is immense, and his audacity equal to it; I have even had one alight tipon the barrel of

the gun over my shoulders as I sat quietly itndcr his tree."

— Ernest Ingersoll.

OAVEVER careless we may be of our bird friends
when we are in the midst of the luxurious life of
summer, even the most careless among us give
pleased attention to the birds that bravely endure
with us the rigors of winter. And when this
winged companion of winter proves to be the most

fascinating little ball of feathers ever created, constantly overflowing

with cheerful song, our pleased attention changes to active delight.

Thus it is, that in all the lands of snowy winters the chickadee is a loved

comrade of the country wayfarer; that happy song "chick-a-dee-dee-dee"

finds its way to the dullest consciousness and the most callous heart.
The chickadees appear in

small flocks in the winter and

often in company with the nut-
hatches. The chickadees work

on the twigs and ends of bran-
ches, while the nuthatches

usually mine the bark of the

trunk and larger branches, the

former hunting insect eggs and

the latter, insects tucked away

in winter quarters. When the

chickadee is prospecting for eggs,

it looks the twig over, first above

and then hangs head down and

inspects it from below; it is a

thorough worker and doesn't

intend to overlook anything

whatever; and however busily it

is hunting, it always finds time

for singing; whether on the wing

or perched upon a twig or hang-
ing from it like an acrobat,

head down, it sends forth its

happy "chickadeedee" to assure

us that this world is all right and

good enough for anybody. Be-

sides this

song.

it begins in

February to sing a most seduc-
tive "fee-bee," giving a rising

Chick-a-dee-dee-dee

Bird Study

inflection to the first syllable and a long, falling inflection to the last,
which makes it a very different song from the short, jerky notes of the

phoebe-bird, which cuts
the last syllable short
and gives it a rising in-
flection. More than this,
the chickadee has some
chatty conversational
notes, and now and then
performs a bewitching
little yodle, which is a fit
expression of its own
delicious personality.

The general effect of
the colors of the chicka-
dee is grayish brown
above and grayish white
below. The top of the
head is black, the sides
white, and it has a
seductive little black
bib under its chin. The
back is grayish, the
wings and tail are dark
gray, the feathers having
white margins. The
breast is grayish white
changing to buff or

^, . , , . , brownish at the sides

Chickadee entering her nest. ^^^ ^^^^^^ j^ -^ ^^^^^

called the "Black-capped Titmouse," and it may always be distin-
guished by black cap and black bib. It is smaller than the English
sparrow; its beak is a sharp little pick just fitted for taking insect eggs
off twigs and from under bark. Insects are obliged to pass the winter
in some stage of their existence, and many of them wisely remain
in the egg until there is something worth doing in the way of eating.
These eggs are glued fast to the food trees by the mother insect and
thus provides abundant food for the chickadees. It has _ been
estimated that one chickadee will destroy several hundred insect
eggs in one day, and it has been proven that orchards frequented by these
birds are much more free from insect pests than other orchards in the
same locality. They can be enticed into orchards by putting up beef fat
or bones and thus we can secure their valuable service. In summer these
birds attack caterpillars and other insects.

When it comes to nest building, if the chickadees cannot find a house
to rent they proceed to dig out a proper hole from some decaying tree,
which they line with moss, feathers, fur or some other soft material.
The nest is often not higher than six to ten feet from the ground. One
which I studied was in a decaying fence post. The eggs are white,
sparsely speckled and spotted with lilac or rufous. The young birds are
often eight in number and how these fubsy birdlings manage to pack
themselves in such a small hole is a wonder, and probably gives them good
discipline in bearing hardships cheerfully.

Handbook oj Nature-Study

Reference — Useful Birds and Their Protection, Forbush, p. 163;
Birds of Village and Field, Merriams; Bird Neighbors, Blancham.

LESSON XIII
The Chickadee

Leading thought — The chickadee is as useful as it is delightful; it
remains in the North during winter, working hard to clear our trees of
insect eggs and singing cheerily all day. It is so friendly that we can
induce it to come even to the window sill, by putting out suet to show our
friendly interest.

Methods — Put beef fat on the trees near the schoolhouse in December
and replenish it afresh about every two or three weeks. The chick-
adees will come to the feast and may be observed all winter. Give the
questions a few at a time and let the children read in the bird books a
record of the benefits derived from this bird.

I Observations — i. Where have you seen the chickadees? What
were they doing? Were there several together?

2. What is the common song of the chickadee? What other notes
has it? Have you heard it yodle? Have you heard it sing "fe-bee, fee-
bee." Flow does this song differ from that of the phoebe-bird? Does it
sing on the wing or when at rest?

3. What is the color of the chickadee: Top and sides of head,
back, wings, tail, throat, breast, under parts?

Compare size of chickadee with that of English sparrow.

4. What is the shape of the chickadee's bill and for what is it
adapted? What is the food in winter? Where does the bird find it?
How does it act when feeding and hunting for food?

5. Does the chickadee usually alight on the ends of the branches or
on the larger portions near the trunk of the tree?

6. How can you distinguish the chickadees from their companions,
the nuthatches?

7. Does the chickadee ever seem discouraged by the snow and cold
weather? Do you know another name for the chickadee?'

8. Where does it build its nest? Of what material? Have you
ever watched one of these nests? If so, tell about it.

9. How does the chickadee benefit our orchards and shade trees?
How can we induce it to feel at home with us and w^ork for us?

Siipplementary reading — "Foster Babv," Nestlings of Forest and
Marsh; "Ch'-geegee-lokh-sis," Ways of Wood Folk; "Why a Chickadee
Goes Crazy," Animal Heroes, Seton; "The Titmouse," a poem, by
Emerson.

Bird Study 69

THE DOWNY WOODPECKER
Teacher's Story

RIEND Downy is the name this attractive little neighbor

..^a^ I has earned, because it is so friendly to those of us who

L^^i^i*-. ^ love trees. Watch it as it hunts each crack and crevice

I -.=.«^~ of the bark of your favorite apple or shade tree, seeking

" ^ ^ assiduously for cocoons and insects hiding there, and

you will soon, of your own accord, call it friend; you

will soon love its black and white uniform, which consists of a black coat

speckled and barred with white and whitish gray vest and trousers. The

front of the head is black and there is a black streak extending backward

from the eye with a white streak above and also below it. The male has

a vivid red patch on the back of the head, but his wife shows no such

giddiness; plain black and white are good enough for her. In both

sexes the throat and breast are white, the middle tail feathers black,

while the side tail feathers are white, barred with black at their tips.

The downy has a way of alighting low down on a tree trunk or at the
base of a larger branch and climbing upward in a jerky fashion; it never
runs about over the tree nor does it turn around and go down head first,
like the nuthatch ; if it wishes to go down a short distance it accomplishes
this by a few awkward, backward hops; but when it really wishes to
descend, it flies off and down. The downy, as other woodpeckers, has a
special arrangement of its physical machinery to enable it to climb
trees in its own manner. In order to grasp the bark on the side of the
tree more firmly, its fourth toe is turned backward
to work as companion with the thumb. Thus it is
able to clutch the bark as with a pair of nippers,
two claws in front and two claws behind; and
as another aid, the tail is arranged to prop the
bird, like a bracket. The tail is rounded in
shape and the middle feathers have_ rather strong ^^.^^'^ ^
quills; but the secret of the adhesion of the tail
to the bark lies in the great profusion of barbs which, at the edge
of the feathers, offer bristling tips, and when applied to the side
of the tree act like a wire brush with all the wires pushing downward.
This explains why the woodpecker cannot go backward without lifting
the tail.

But even more wonderful than this, is the mechanism by which
the downy and hairy woodpeckers get their food, which consists
largely of wood-borers or larvae working under the bark. When the
woodpecker wishes to get a grub in the wood, it seizes the bark firmly
with its feet, uses its tail as a brace, throws its head and upper part of
the body as far back as possible, and then drives a powerful blow
with its strong beak. The beak is adapted for just this purpose,
as it is wedge-shaped at the end, and is used like a mason's drill
sometimes, and sometimes like a pick. When the bird uses its beak as a
pick, it strikes hard, deliberate blows and the chips fly; but when it is
drilling, it strikes rapidly and not so hard and quickly drills a small,
deep hole leading directly to the burrow of the grub. When finally the
grub is reached, it would seem well nigh impossible to pull it out
through a hole which is too small and deep to admit of the beak

Handbook of Nature-Study

being used as pincers. This is another story and a very interesting
one; the downy and hairy can both extend their tongues far beyond the
point of the beak, and the tip of the
tongue is hard and horny and covered
with short backward-slanting hooks
acting Hke a spear or harpoon, and
when thrust into the grub pulls it out
easily (see initial). The bones of the
tongue have a spring arrangement;
when not in use, the tongue lies soft in
the mouth, like a wrinkled earth-
worm, but when in use, the bones
spring out, stretching it to its full
length and it is then slim and small.
The process is like fastening a pencil
to the tip of a glove finger; when
drawn back the finger is wrinkled
together, but when thrust out,
straightens. This spring arrangement
of the bones of the woodpecker's
tongue is a marvellous mechanism
and should be studied through pic-
tures; see Birds, Eckstrom, Chap-
ter XIV; The Bird, Beebe, p. 122;
"The Tongues of Woodpeckers,"
Lucas, U. S. Department of Agricul-
ture.

Since the food of the downy and
the hairy is where they can get it all winter, there is no need for them to
go South ; thus they stay with us and work for us the entire year. We
should try to make them feel at home with us in our orchards and shade
trees by putting up pieces of beef fat, to convince them of their welcome.
No amount of free food will pauperize these birds, for as soon as they
have eaten of the fat, they commence to hunt for grubs on the tree and
thus earn their feast. They never injure live wood.

James AVhitcomb Riley describes the drumming of the woodpecker as
"weeding out the lonesomeness" and that is exactly what the drumming
of the woodpecker means. The male selects some dried limb of hard
wood and there beats out his well-known signal which advertises far and
near, "Wanted, a wife." And after he wins her, he still drums on for a
time to cheer her while she is busy with her family cares. The wood-
pecker has no voice for singing, like the robin or thrush; and luckil}', he
does not insist on singing, like the peacock whether he can or not. He
chooses rather to devote his voice to terse and business-like conversation ;
and when he is musically inclined, he turns drummer. He is rather
particular about his instrument and having found one that is sufficiently
resonant he returns to it day after day. While it is ordinarily the male
that drums I once observed a female drumming. I told her that she was
a bold minx and ought to be ashamed of herself; but within twenty
minutes she had drummed up two red-capped suitors who chased each
other about with great animosity, so her performance was evidently not
considered improper in woodpecker society. I have watched a rival pair

Friend Downy.
Drawing by A. L. Fuertes.

Bird Study 71

of male downies fight for hours at a time, but their duel was of the French
brand,— much fuss and no bloodshed. They advanced upon each other
with much haughty glaring and scornful bobs of the head, but when they
were sufficiently near to stab each other they beat a mutual and circum-
spect retreat. Although we hear the male downies drumming every
spring, I doubt if they are calHng for new wives; I believe they are, in-
stead, calling the attention of their lawful spouses to the fact that it is
time for nest building to begin. I have come to this conclusion because
the downies and hairies which I have watched for years have always come
in pairs to partake of suet during the entire winter; and while only one at
a time sits at meat and the lord and master is somewhat bossy, yet they
seem to get along as well as most married pairs.

The downy 's nest is a hole, usually in a partly decayed tree; an old
apple tree is a favorite site and a fresh excavation is made each year.
There are from four to six white eggs, which are laid on a nice bed of chips
as fine almost as sawdust. The door to the nest is a perfect circle and
about an inch and a quarter across.

The hairy woodpecker is fully one-third larger than the downy,
measuring nine inches from tip of beak to tip of tail, while the downy
measures only about six inches. The tail feathers at the side are white
for the entire length, while they are barred at the tips in the downy.
There is a black "parting" through the middle of the red patch on the
back of the hairy's head. The two species are so much alike that it is
difficult for the beginner to tell them apart. Their habits are very
similar, except that the hairy lives in the woods and is not so commonly
seen in orchards or on shade trees. The food of the hairy is much like
that of the downy and it is, therefore, a beneficial bird and should be
protected.

LESSON XIV

The Downy Woodpecker

Leading thought — The downy woodpecker remains with us all winter,
feeding upon insects that are wintering in crevices and beneath the bark
of our trees. It is fitted especially by shape of beak, tongue, feet and tail
to get such food and it is a "friend in need" to our forest, shade and
orchard trees.

Methods — If a piece of beef fat be fastened upon the trunk or branch
of a tree, which can be seen from the schoolroom windows, there will be
no lack of interest in this friendly little bird; for the downy will sooner
or later find this feast spread for it and will come every day to partake.
Give out the questions, a few at a time, and discuss the answers with the
pupils.

Observations — i. What is the general color of the downy above and
below? The color of the top of the head? Sides of the head? The
throat and breast? The color and markings of the wings? Color and
markings of the middle and side tail-feathers?

2. Do all downy woodpeckers have the red patch at the back of the
head? If not, why?

3. What is the note of the downy? Does it make any other sound?
Have you ever seen one drumming? At what time of the year? On
what did it drum ? What did it use for a drumstick ? What do you sup-
pose was the purpose of this music?

y2 Hmidbook of Nature-Study

4. How does the downy climb a tree trunk? Kow does it descend?
How do its actions differ from those of the nuthatch?

5. How are the woodpecker's toes arranged to help it climb a tree
trunk? How does this arrangement of toes differ from that of other

birds?

6. How does the downy use its tail to assist it in climbing? What
is the shape of the tail and how is it adapted to assist?

7. What does the downy eat and where does it find its food?
Describe how it gets at its food. What is the shape of its bill and how is
it fitted for getting the food? Tell how the downy 's tongue is used to
spear the grub.

8. Why does the downy not go South in winter?

9. Of what use is this bird to us? How should we protect it and
entice it into our orchards?

10. Write an English theme on the subject "How the downy builds
its nest and rears its young".

Supplementary reading — The Woodpeckers, Eckstorm: Bird Neigh-
bors, Blanchan- Winter Neighbors Burroughs.

A few seasons ago a doivny woodpecker, probably the individual one who is now
my wint'^r neighbor, began to drum early in March in a partly decayed apple-tree
that stands in the edge of a narroiv strip of ivoodland near me. When the morning
was still and mild I wotild often hear him through my window before I was up, or by
half-past six o'clock, and he would keep it up pretty briskly till nine_ or ten o'clock,
in this respect resembling the grouse, which do most of their drumming in the forenoon.
His drum was the stub of a dry limb about the size of one's wrist. The heart was
decayed and gone, but the outer shell ivas loud and resonant. The bird zvould keep
his position there for an hour at a time. Between his drummings he would preen his
plumage and listen as if for the response of the female, or for the drum of some rival.
How sivift his head would go when he was delivering his blows upon the_ limb! His
beak ivore the surface perceptibly. When he wished to change the key, which was quite
often, he would shift his position an inch or tivo to a knot which gave out a higher,
shriller note. When I climbed up to examine his drum he ivas much disturbed. I did
not know he was in the vicinity, but it seems he saw me from a near tree, and came
in haste to the neighboring branches, and with spread plumage and a sharp note de-
manded plainly enough zvhat my business was with his drum. I ivas invading his
privacy, desecrating his shrine, and the bird ivas much put out. After some weeks
the female appeared; he had literally drummed up a mate; his urgent and oft-repeated
advertisement was answered. Still the drumming did not cease, but was quite as
fervent as before. If a mate coidd be won by drumming she could be kept and enter-
tained by more drumming; courtship should not end with marriage. If the bird felt
musical before, of course he felt much more so now. Besides that, the gentle deities
needed propitiating in behalf of the nest and young as well as in behalf of the mate.
After a time a second female came, when there ivas war between the two. I did not see
them come to blows, but I saw one female pursuing the other about the place, and giving
her no rest for several days. She was evidently trying to run her out of the neighbor-
hood. Now and then she, too, would drum briefly as if sending a triumphant message
to her mate. — Winter Neighbors, John Burroughs.

Bird Study

THE SAPSUCKER
Teacher's Story

The sapsucker is a woodpecker
that has strayed from the paths of
virtue; he has fallen into tempta-
tion by the wayside, and instead of
drilling a hole for the sake of the
grub at the end of it, he drills for
drink. He is a tippler, and sap is
his beverage ; and he is also fond of
the soft, inner bark. He often
drills his holes in regular rows and
thus girdles a limb or a tree, and for
this is pronounced a rascal by men
who have themselves ruthlessly cut
from our land millions of trees that
should now be standing. It is
amusing to see a sapsucker take his
tipple, unless his saloon happens to
be one of our prized young trees.
He uses his bill as a pick and makes
the chips fly as he taps the tree;
then he goes away and taps another
tree. After a time he comes back
and holding his beak close to the
hole for a long time seems to be
sucking up the sap ; he then throws
back his head and "swigs" it down

with every sign of delirious enjoyment. The avidity with which these
birds come to the bleeding wells which they have made, has in it all the
fierceness of a toper crazy for drink; they are particularly fond of the sap
of the mountain ash, apple, thorn apple, canoe birch, cut-leaf birch, red
maple, red oak, white ash and young pines. However, the sapsucker
does not live solely on sap, he also feeds upon insects whenever he can
find them. When feeding their young, the sapsuckers are true fly-
catchers snatching insects while on the wing. The male has the crown
and throat crimson, edged with black with a black Hne extending back of
the eye, bordered with white above and below. There is a large, black
circular patch on the breast which is bordered at the sides and below with
lemon yellow. The female is similar to the male and has a red forehead,
but she has a white bib instead of a red one beneath the chin. The
distinguishing marks of the sapsucker should be learned by the pupils.
The red is on the front of the head instead of on the crowTi, as is the case
with the downy and hairy; when it is flying the broad, white stripes
extending from the shoulders backward, form a long, oval figure, which is
very characteristic.

The sapsuckers spend the winter in the Southern States where they
drill wells in the white oak and other trees. From Virginia to Northern
New York and New England, where they breed, they are seen only during
migration, which occurs in April; then the birds appear two and three
together and are very bold in attacking shade trees, especially the white

The yellow bellied sapsucker.
Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.

74 Handbook of Nature-Study

birch. They nest only in the Northern United States and northward.
The nest is usually a hole in a tree about forty feet from the ground, and
is likely to be in a dead birch.

LESSON XV
The Sapsucker

Leading thought — The sapsucker has a red cap, a red bib and a yel-
low breast; it is our only woodpecker that does injury to trees. We
should learn to distinguish it from the downy and hairy, as the latter are
among the best bird friends of the trees.

MetJiods — Let the observations begin with the study of the trees which
have been attacked by the sapsucker, which are almost everywhere
common, and thus lead to an interest in the culprit.

Observations — i. Have you seen the work of the sapsucker? Are
the holes drilled in rows completely around the tree? If there are two
rows or more, are the holes set evenly one below another?

2. Do the holes sink into the wood, or are they simply through the
bark? Why does it injure or kill a tree to be girdled with these holes?
Have you ever seen the sapsuckers making these holes? If so, how did
they act?

3. How many kinds of trees can you find punctured by these holes?
Are they likely to be young trees?

4. How can you distinguish the sapsucker from the other wood-
peckers? How have the hairy and downy which are such good friends of
the trees been made to suffer for the sapsucker's sins?

5. What is the color of the sapsucker as follows: Forehead, sides
of head, back, wings, throat, upper and lower breast? What is the
difference in color between the male and female?

6. In what part of the country do the sapsuckers build their nests?
Where do they make their nests and how?

Supplementary reading — Bird Neighbors, Blanchan; Birds, Bees and
Sharp Eyes, John Burroughs.

In the following ivintcr the same bird (a sapsucker) tapped a maple-tree in front
of my window in fifty-six places; and, whoi the day was sunny and the sap oozed out
he spent most of his time there. He knew the good sap-days, and was on hand promptly
for his tipple; cold and cloudy days he did not appear. He k}iew which side of the
tree to tap, too, and avoided the sunless northern exposure. When one series of well-
holes failed to supply him, he luould sink another, drilling through the bark with great
ease and quickness. Then, when the day was warm, and the sap ran freely, he would
have a regular sugar-maple debauch, sitting there by his wells hour after hour, and as
fast as they became filled sipping out the sap. This he did in a gentle, carressing
manner that was very suggestive. He made a row of wells near the foot of the tree, and
other rows higher up, and he would hop up and doivn tlw trunk as they became filled. —
Winter Neighbors, John Burroughs.

Bird Study

THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER

Teacher s Story

The red-head is well named, for his
helmet and visor show a vivid glow-
in s: crimson that stirs the sensibili-
ties of the color lover. It is
readily distinguished from the other
woodpeckers because its entire head
and bib are red. For the rest, it is
a beautiful dark metallic blue with
the lower back, a band across the
wing, and the under parts white;
its outer tail feathers are tipped
with white. The female is colored
like the male, but the young have
the head and breast gray, streaked
with black and white, and the
wings barred with black. It may
make its nest by excavating a hole
in a tree or a stump or even in a
telegraph pole; the eggs are glossy
white. This woodpecker is quite
different in habits from the hairy
and downy, as it likes to flit along
from stump to fence-post and
catch insects on the wing, like a
fly-catcher. The only time that it pecks wood is when it is making a hole

for its nest.

As a drummer, the red-head is most adept and his roll is a long one.
He is an adaptable fellow, and if there is no resonant dead limb at hand,
he has been known to drum on tin roofs and Hghtning rods; and once we
also observed him executing a most brilliant solo on the wire of a barbed
fence. He is especially fond of beechnuts and acorns, and being a thrifty
fellow as well as musical, in time of plenty he stores up food against time
of need. He places his nuts in crevices and forks of the branches or m
holes in trees or any other hiding place. He can shell a beechnut quite
as cleverly as can the deer mouse; and he is own cousin to the Carpenter
Woodpecker of the Pacific Coast, which is also red-headed and which dnlls
holes in the oak trees wherein he drives acorns like pegs for later use.

The red-headed woodpecker.

Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.

LESSON XVI
The Red-headed Woodpecker

Leading thought— The red-headed woodpecker has very different habits
from the downvand is not so useful to us. _ It lives upon nuts and fruit
and such insects as it can catch upon the wmg. , i ^,

Methods— li there is a red-head in the vicinity of your school the
children will be sure to see it. Write the following questions upon the
blackboard and ofTer a prize to the first one who will make a note on
where the red-head stores his winter food.

76 Handbook of Nature-Study

Observations — i. Can you tell the red-head from the other wood-
peckers? What colors especially mark his plumage?

2. Where does the red-head nest? Describe eggs and nest?

3. What have you observed the red-head eating? Have you
noticed it storing nuts and acorns for the winter? Have you noticed it
flying off with cherries or other fruit?

4. AVhat is the note of the red-head? Have you ever seen one
drumming? What did he use for a drum? Did he come back often to
this place to make his music?

Supplementary reading — "The House That Fell" in Nestlings of Forest
and Marsh; Our Birds and their Nestlings, p. 90; Birds, Bees and
Sharp Eyes, John Burroughs.

Another trait our wood peckers have that endears them to me, and that has never been
pointedly noticed by our ornithologists, is their habit of drumming in the spring. They
are songless birds, and yet all are musicians; they make the dry limbs eloquent of the
coming change. Did you think that loud, sonorous hammering which proceeded from
the orchard or from the near woods on that still March or April morning was only some
bird getting its breakfast? It is downy, but he is not rapping at the door of a grub;
he is rapping at the door of spring, and the dry limb thrills beneath the ardor of his
blows. Or, later in the season, in the dense forest or by some remote mountain lake,
does that measured rhythmic beat that breaks upon the silence, first three strokes follow-
ing each other rapidly, succeeded by tivo louder ones with longer intervals between them,
and that has an effect upon the alert ear as if the solitude itself had at least found a
voice — does that suggest anything less than a deliberate musical_ performance? In
fact, our ivoodpeckers are just as characteristically drummers as is the ruffed grouse,
and they have their particular limbs and stubs to which they resort for that purpose.
Their need of expression is apparently just as great as that of the song-birds, and it
is not surprising that they should have found out that there is music in a dry, seasoned
limb ivhich can be evoked beneath their beaks.

The woodpeckers do not each have a particular dry limb to which they resort at all
times to drum, like the one I have described. The woods are full of suitable branches,
and they drum more or less here and there as they are in quest of food; yet I am con-
vinced each one has its favorite spot, like the grouse, to which it resorts, especially in
the morning. The sugar-maker in the maple woods may notice that this sound pro-
ceeds from the same tree or trees about his camp with great regularity. A woodpecker
in my vicinity has drummed for two seasons on a telegraph-pole, and he makes the wires
and glass insulators ring. Another drums on a thin board on the end of a long grape-
arbor, and on still mornings can be heard a long distance.

A friend of mine in a Southern city tells me of a red-headed woodpecker that drums
upon a lightning-rod on his neighbor's house. Nearly every clear, still morning a.t
certain seasons, he says, this musical rapping may be heard. "H<? alternates his
tapping u'ith his stridulous call, and the effect on a cool, autumn-like morning is very
pleasing." — John Burroughs, in Birds, Bees and Sharp Eyes.

Bird Study

Young -flickers "Two is company,

three is a crowd."

Photo by J. M. Schreck.

THE FLICKER OR YELLOW-HAMMER

Teacher's Story

The first time I ever saw a flicker I
said, "What a wonderful meadow-
lark and what is it doing on that
ant hill?" But, another glance
revealed to me a red spot on the
back of the bird's neck, and as soon
as I was sure that it was not a
bloody gash, I knew that it marked
no meadow-lark. The top of the
flicker's head and its back are slaty-
gray, which is much enlivened by
a bright red band across the nape
of the neck. The tail is black above
and yellow tipped with black below;
the wings are black, but have a
beautiful luminous yellow beneath,
which is very noticeable during
flight. There is a locket adorning
the breast which is a thin, black
crescent, much narrower than that
of the meadow-lark. Below the
locket, the breast is yellowish white
thickly marked with circular, black spots. The throat and sides of the
head are pinkish brown, and the male has a black mustache extending
backward from the beak with a very fashionable droop. Naturally
enough the female, although she resembles her spouse, lacks his mus-
tache. The beak is long, strong, somewhat curved and dark colored.
This bird is distinctly larger than the robin. The white patch on the
rump shows little or none when the bird is at rest, for this white mark is
a "color call," it being a rear signal by means of which the flock of
migrating birds are able to keep together in the night. The yellow-
hammer's flight is wave-Hke and jerky and quite different from that
of the meadow-lark; nor does it stay so constantly in the meadows
but often frequents woods and orchards.

The flicker has many names, such as golden-winged woodpecker,
yellow-hammer, high-hole, yarup, wake-up, clape and many others. It
earned the name of high-hole because of its habit of excavating its nest
high up in trees, usually between ten and twenty-five feet from the
ground. It especially loves an old apple tree as a site for a nest, and
most of our large old orchards can boast of a pair of these handsome birds
during the nesting season of May and June. The flicker is not above
renting anv house he finds vacant, excavated by some other birds last
year. He "earned his name of yarup or wake-up from his spring song,
which is a rollicking, jolly "wick-a, wick-a, wick-a-wick" a song com-
monly heard the last of March or early April. The chief food of the flicker
is ants, although it also eats beetles, flies and wild fruit, but does little or
no darnage to planted crops. So long has it fed upon ants, that its tongue
has become modified, like that of the ant-eater; it is covered with a
sticky substance; and when it is thrust into an ant hill, all of the little

Handbook of Nature-Study

citizens, disturbed in their communal labors, at once I ravely attack the
intruder and become glued fast to it, and are thus withdrawn and trans-
ferred to the capacious stomach of the bird. It has been known to eat
three thousand ants at a single meal.

Those who have observed the flicker during the courting season declare
him to be the most siUy and vain of all bird wooers. Mr. Baskett says:
"When he wishes to charm his sweetheart he mounts a small twig near
her, and lifts his wings, spreads his tail, and begins to nod right and left as
he exhibits his mustache to his charmer. He sets his jet locket first on
one side of the twig and then on the other. He may even go so far as to
turn his head half around to show her the pretty spot on his back hair.
In doing all this he performs the most ludicrous antics and has the silliest
expression of face and voice as if in losing his heart, as some one phrases
it, he had lost his head also."

The nest hole is quite deep and the white eggs are from four to ten in
number. The feeding of the young flickers is a painful process to watch.
The parent takes the food into its own stomach and partially digests it,
then thrusting its own bill down the throat of the young one it pumps the
soft food into it "kerchug, kerchug," until it seems as if the young one
must be shaken to its foundations. The young flickers as soon as they
leave the nest climb around freely on the home tree in a delightful, playful

manner.

Flicker coming from tJie m st.
Photo by George Fiske, Jr.

Bird Study 79

LESSON XVII

The Flicker

Leading thought — The flicker is a true woodpecker but has changed its
habits and spends much of its time in meadows hunting for ants and other
insects; it makes its nest in trees, Hke its relatives. It can be distin-
guished from the meadow-lark by the white patch above the tail which
shows during flight.

Methods — This is one of the most important of birds of the meadow
and the work may be done in September when there are plenty of young
flickers, which have not learned to be wary. The observations may be
made in the field, a few questions given at a time.

Observations — i. Where do you find the flicker in the summer and
early autumn? How can you tell it from the meadow-lark in color and

in flight ?

2. What is it doing in the meadows? How does it manage to trap

ants '^

3. What is the size of the flicker as compared to the robin ? What
is its general color as compared to the meadow-lark?

4. Describe the colors of the flicker as follows : Top and sides of the
head, back of the neck, lower back, tail, wings, throat and breast. The
color and shape of the beak. Is there a difference in markings between
the males and females?

5. Does the patch of white above the tail show, except when the
bird is flying? Of what use is this to the bird?

6. Whatisthe flicker's note? At what time of spring do you hear it

first?

7. Where does the flicker build its nest and how? What is the
color of the eggs? How many are there?

8. How does it feed its young? How do the young flickers act?

9. How many names do you know for the flicker?
Supplementary reading— ''The Bird of Many Names," Nestlings of

Forest and Marsh; A Fellow of Expedients, Long; Our Birds and Their
Nestlings, p. 187; Audubon Leaflet No. 5.

The high-hole appears to drum more promiscuously than does the downy. He
utters his long, loud spring call, whick-whick-whick , and then begins to rap unth hts
beak upon his perch before the last note has reached your ear I have seen him drum
sitting upon the ridge of the barn. The log-cock, or pileated woodpecker, the largest
and wildest of our- Northern species, I have never heard drum. His blows should wake

^ ''when the woodpecker is searching for food, or laying siege to some hidden grub,
the sound of his hammering is dead or snuffled, and ts heard but a few' yards. It ts
only upon dry, seasoned timber, freed of its bark, that he beats his reveille to spring and
woos his mate.—]onN Burroughs, in Birds, Bees and bhaqj byes.

8o Handbook of Nature-Study

THE MEADOW-LARK

Teaclicr's Story

The first intimation we have in early spring, that
the meadow-lark is again with us, comes to us
through his soft, sweet, sad note which Van Dyke
describes so graphically when he says it, "leaks
slowly upward from the ground." One wonders
how a bird can express happiness in these melan-
choly, sweet, slurred notes and yet undoubtedly it
is a song expressing joy, the joy of returning home,
the happiness of love and of nest building. But
after one has spent a winter in the Gulf States, and
has witnessed the slaughter there of this most
valuable bird; and after the northern stomach and
heart have turned sick at the sight of breasts once so full of song done
brown on the luncheon table, one no longer wonders that the meadow-
lark's song of joy is fraught with sadness. There should be national laws
to protect the birds that are of value to one part of the United States from
being slaughtered in their winter haunts, unless they are there a nuisance
and injurious to crops, which is not the case with the meadow-lark.

The meadow-lark, as is indicated by its name, is a bird of the meadow.
It is often confused with another bird of the meadow which has ver}^
different habits, the flicker. The two are approximately of the same size
and color and each has a black crescent or locket on the breast and each
shows the "white feather" during flight. The latter is the chief dis-
tinguishing character; the outer tail feathers of the meadow-lark are
white, while the tail feathers of the flicker are not white at all, but it has
a single patch of white on th:= rump. The flight of the two is quite
different. The lark lifts itself by several sharp movements and then
soars smoothly over the course, while the flicker makes a continuous up
and down, wave-like flight. The songs of the two would surely never be
confused, for the meadow-lark is among our sweetest singers, to which
class the flicker with his "flick a flick" hardly belongs.

The color s of the meadow-lark are most harmonious shades of brown
and yeiiow, well set off by the black locket on its breast. Its wings are
light brown, each feather being streaked with black and brown ; the line
above the eye is yellow, bordered with black above and below; a buff line
extends from the beak backward over the crown. The wings are light
brown and have a mere suggestion of white bars; portions of the outer
feathers on each side of the tail are white, but this white does not show
except during flight. The sides of the throat are greenish, the middle
part and breast are lemon-yellow, with the large, black crescent just below
the throat. The beak is long, strong and black, and the meadow-lark is
decidedly a low-browed bird, the forehead being only slightly higher than
the upper part of the beak. It is a little larger than the robin which it
rivals in plumpness.

The meadow-lark has a particular liking for meadows which border
streams. It sings when on the ground, on the bush or fence and while on
the wing; and it sings during the entire period of its northern stay, from
April to November, except while it is moulting in late summer. Mr.
Mathews, who is an eminent authority on bird songs, says that the

Bird Study

meadow-larks of New York have a different song from those of Vermont
or Nantucket, although the music has always the same general character-
istics. The western species has a longer and more complex song than
ours of the East. It is one of the few California birds that is a genuine
joy to the eastern visitor; during February and March its heavenly
music isas pervasive as the California sunshine.

The meadow-lark.
Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.

The nest is built in a depression in the ground near a tuft of grass; it is
constructed of coarse grass and sticks and is lined with finer grass; there
is usually a dome of grass blades woven above the nest; and often a long,
covered vestibule leading to the nest is made in a similar fashion. This is
evidently for protection from the keen eyes of hawks and crows. The
eggs are laid about the last of May and are usually from five to seven in
number; they are white, speckled with brown and purple. The young
larks are usuallv large enough to be out of the way before haying time in
July.

Handbook of N ature-Study

The food of the meadow-lark during the entire year, consists almost
exclusively of insects which destroy the grass of our meadows. It eats
great quantities of grasshoppers, cut worms, chinch bugs, army worms,
wire worms, weevils, and also destroys some weed seeds. Each pupil
should make a diagram in his note-book showing the proportions of the
meadow-lark's different kinds of food. This may be copied from Audubon
Leaflet No. 3. The killing of the meadow-lark in New York State is a
punishable offence, as it should be in every state of the Union. Everyone
who owns a meadow should use his influence to the uttermost to protect
this valuable bird. It has been estimated that the meadow-larks save to
every township where hay is produced, twenty-flve dollars each year on
this crop alone.

The meadow-lark's covered nest.
Photo by Robert Matheson

LESSON XVIII
The Meadow-Lark

Leading thought — The meadow-lark is of great value in delivering tne
grass of our meadows from insect destroyers. It has a song which we all
know; it can be identified by color as a large, light brown bird with white
feathers on each side of the tail, and in flight, by its quick up and down
movements finishing with long, low, smooth sailing.

Af£'i//o(f— September and October are good months for observations on
the flight, song and appearance of the meadow-lark, and also for learning

Bird Study 83

how to distinguish it from the flicker. The notes must be made by the
pupils in the field, and after they know the bird and its song let them, if
they have opportunity, study the bird books and bulletins, and prepare
written accounts of the way the meadow-lark builds its nest and of its
economic value.

Observations — i. Where have you seen the meadow-lark? Did
you ever see it in the woods? Describe its flight. How can you identify
it by color when it is flying? How do its white patches and its flight
differ from those of the flicker?

2. Try and imitate the meadow-lark's notes by song or whistle.
Does it sing while on the ground, or on a bush or fence, or during flight?

3. Note the day when you hear its last song in the fall and also its
first song in the spring. Does it sing during August and September?
Why? Where does it spend the winter? On what does it feed while in
the South? How are our meadow-larks treated when on their southern
sojourn?

4. Is the meadow-lark larger or smaher than the robin? Describe
from your own observation, as far as possible, the colors of the meadow-
lark as follows: Top of head; line above the eye; back; wings; tail;
throat; breast; locket; color and shape of beak. Make a sketch of your
own or a copy from Louis Fuertes' excellent picture of the meadow-lark in
the Audubon Leaflet, and color it accurately.

5. When is the nest built; where is it placed; of what materialis it
built ? How is it protected from sight from above ? Why this protection,
How^ many eggs? What are their colors and markings?

6. What is the food of the meadow-lark? Copy the diagram from
the Audubon leaflet, showing the proportions of the different kinds of
insects which it destroys. Why should the farmers of the South also
protect the meadow-lark by law?

Supplementary reading — Audubon Education Leaflet No. 3; Farmers'
Buhetin No. 54, U. S. Dept. of Agr.; "A Pioneer," in Nestlings of Forest
and Marsh, Wheelock.

Sweet, sweet, sweet! O happy that I am!

{Listen to the meadow-larks, across the fields that sing!)
Sweet, sweet, sweet! O subtle breath of balm,

O winds that blow, O buds that grow, O rapture of the spring!

Sweet, sweet, sweet! O happy ivorld that is! _ _

Dear heart, I hear across the fields my matchng pipe and call.

Sweet, sweet, sweet! O world so full of bliss.

For life is love, the world is love, and love ts over all!

— Ina Coolbrith.

Handbook of Naturc-Siitdy

THE ENGLISH SPARROW

Teacher's Story

So dainty in plumage and hue,

A study in grey and in brown.
How little, hoiv little we hneiv

The pest he ivoidd prove to the town!
From dawn until daylight grou's dim,

Perpetual chatter and scold.
No winter migration for him.

Not even afraid of the cold!
Scarce a song-bird he fails to molest,

Belligerent, meddlesome thing!
Wherever he goes as a guest

He is sure to remain as a King.

— Mary Isabella Forsyth.

The English sparrow, like the poor and the house-fly, is always with
us ; and since he is here to stay, let us make him useful if we can devise
any means of doing so. There is no bird that gives the pupils a more
difficult exercise in describing colors and markings than does he; and his
wife is almost equally difficult. I have known fairly skilled ornithologists
to be misled by some variation in color of the hen sparrow, and it is safe
to assert that the majority of people "do not know her from Adam."
The male has the top of the head gray with a patch of reddish brown on
either side; the middle of the throat and upper breast is black; the sides
of the throat white ; the lower breast and under parts grayish white; the

Bird Study 85

back is brown streaked with black ; the tail is brown, rather short, and not
notched at the tip ; the wings are brown with two white bars and a jaunty
dash of reddish brown. The female has the head grayish brown, the
breast, throat and under parts grayish white; the back is brown streaked
with black and dirty yellow, and she is, on the whole, a "washed out"
looking lady bird. The differences in color and size between the English
sparrow and the chippy are quite noticeable, as the chippy is an inch
shorter and far more slender in appearance, and is especially marked by
the reddish brown crown.

When feeding, the English sparrows are aggressive, and their lack of
table manners make them the "goops" among all birds; in the winter
they settle in noisy flocks on the street to pick up the grain undigested by
the horses, or in barnyards where the grain has been scattered by the
cattle. They only eat weed seeds when other food fails them in the
winter, for they are a civilized bird even if they do not act so, and they
much prefer the cultivated grains. It is only during the nesting season
that they destroy insects to any extent ; over one-half the food of nestlings
is insects, such as, weevils, grasshoppers, cutworms, etc.; but this good
work is largely offset by the fact that these same nestlings will soon give
their grown-up energies to attacking grain fields, taking the seed after
sowing, later the new grain in the milk, and later still the ripened grain in
the sheaf. Wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn, sorghum and rice are thus
attacked. Once I saw on the upper Nile a native boat loaded with millet
which was attacked by thousands of sparrows; when driven off by the
sailors they would perch on the rigging, like flies, and as soon as the men
turned their backs they would drop like bullets to the deck and gobble
the grain before they were again driven off. English sparrows also
destroy for us the buds and blossoms of fruit trees and often attack the
ripening fruit.

The introduction of the EngUsh sparrow into America is one of the
greatest arguments possible in favor of nature-study; for, ignorance of
nature-study methods in this single instance, costs the United States
millions of dollars every year. The English sparrow is the European
house sparrow and people had a theory that it was an insect eater, but
never took the pains to ascertain if this theory were a fact. About 1850,
some people with more zeal than wisdom introduced these birds into New
York,, and for twenty years afterwards there were other importations of
the sparrows. In twenty years more, people discovered that they had
taken great pains to establish in our country one of the worst nuisances
in all Europe. In addition to all the direct damage which the English
sparrows do, they are so quarrelsome that they have driven away many
of our native beneficial birds from our premises, and now vociferously
acclaim their presence in places which were once the haunts of birds with
sweet songs. After thev drive off the other birds they quarrel among
themselves, and there is no rest for tired ears in their vicmity. There are
various noises made by these birds which we can understand if we are
willing to take the pains: The harassing chirping is their song; they
squall when frightened and peep plaintively when lonesome, and make a
disagreeable racket when fighting.

But to "give the devil his due" we must admit that the house sparrow
is as clever as it is obnoxious, and its success is doubtless partly rhie to its
superior cleverness and keenness. It is quick to take a hint, if sufficiently

86 Handbook of Nature-Study

pointed ; firing a shotgun twice into a flock of these birds has driven them
from our premises; and tearing down their nests assiduously for a month
seems to convey to them the idea that they are not welcome. Another
instance of their cleverness I witnessed one day; I was watching a robin,
worn and nervous with her second brood, fervently hunting earthworms
in the lawn to fill the gaping mouths in the nest in the Virginia creeper
shading the piazza. She finally pulled up a large, pink worm and a hen
sparrow flew at her viciously; the robin dropped the worm to protect
herself, and the sparrow snatched it and carried it off triumphantly to the
grape arbor where she had a nest of her own full of gaping mouths. She
soon came back, and at a safe distance watched the robin pull out another
worm, and by the same tactics again gained the squirming prize. Three
times was this repeated in an hour, and then the robin, discouraged, flew
up into a Norway spruce and in a monologue of sullen duckings tried to
reason out what had happened.

The Enghsh sparrow's nest is quite in keeping with the bird's other
quahties; it is usually built in a hole or box or in some protected comer
beneath the eaves; it is also often built in vines on buildings and occa-
sionally in trees. It is a good example of "fuss and feathers"; coarse
straw, or any other kind of material, and feathers of hens or of other
birds,' mixed together without fashion or form, constitute the nest. In
these' sprawling nests the whitish, brown or gray-flecked eggs are laid
and the young reared; and so far as I can ascertain, no one has ever
counted the number of broods reared in one season. The nesting begins
almost as soon as the snow is off the ground and lasts until late fall.

During the winter, the sparrows gather in flocks in villages and cities,
but in the spring they scatter out through the country where they can
find more grain. The only place where this bird is welcome is possibly
in the heart of a great citv, where no other bird could pick up a Hveli-
hood. It is a true cosmopolite and is the first bird to greet the traveler
in Europe or northern Africa. These sparrows will not build in boxes
suspended by a wire ; and they do not like a box where there is no restmg
place in front of the door leading to the nest.

After the pupils have made observations upon the habits of the house
sparrow, they may find, in the following books and bulletins, facts which
will teach further the economic importance of this bird : Birds in Their
Relation to Man, bv Weed and Dearborn, p. 144- The following bulle-
tins of the U. S. Department of Agriculture: "English Sparrow m
North America;" "Relation of Sparrows to Agriculture," S. D. Judd,
Bulletin 15; "The Food of Nestlings," Yearbook 1900.

LESSON XIX
The English Sparrow

Leading thought — The English sparrow was introduced into America
by people who knew nothing of its habits. It has finally over-run our
whole countrv and, to a great extent, has driven out from towns and
villages our useful American song birds and it should be discouraged and
not allowed to nest around our houses and grounds. As a sparrow it has
interesting habits which w^e should observe.

Methods — Let the pupils make their observations in the street or
wherever they find the birds. The greatest value of this lesson is to teach

Bird Stiidy 87

the pupils to observe the coloring and markings of a bird accurately and
describe them clearly. This is the best of training for later work with
the wild birds.

Observations — i. How many kintls of birds do you find in a flock of
English sparrows ?

2 . The ones with the black cravat are naturally the men of the
family, while their sisters, wives and mothers are less ornamented.
Describe in your note-book or from memory the colors of the cock sparrow
as follows: Top of head; sides of the head; the back; the tail; the
wings; wing bars; throat and upper breast; lower breast and under
parts.

3. Describe the hen sparrow in the same manner and note the
difference in markings between the two. Are the young birds, when they
first fly, like the father or the mother?

4. Compare the English sparrow with the chippy and describe the
differences in size and color.

5. Is the tail when the bird is not flying, square across the end or

notched ?

6. AYhat is the shape of the beak? For what sort of food is this
shaped beak meant?

7. What is the food of the English sparrows and w^here do they find
it? Describe the actions of a flock feeding in the yard or street. Are
the English sparrows kindly or quarrelsome in disposition ?

8. Why do the Enghsh sparrows stay in the North during the coldest
of winters? Do they winter out in the country or in villages?

g. Describe by observation how they try to drive away the robins or

other native birds.

10. Describe the nest of this sparrow. Of what material is it made?
How is it supported? How sheltered? Is it a well-built nest?

11. Describe the eggs? How many broods are raised a year? What
kind of food do the parents give the nestlings ?

12. If you have ever seen these sparrows do anything interesting
describe the circumstance?

13. In what ways are these birds a nuisance to us?

14. How much of Enghsh sparrow talk do you understand?

15. How can we build bird-boxes so that the English sparrows will
not try to take possession of them ?

Supplementary reading— "A Street Troubadour," in Lives of the
Hunted, Thompson Seton. First Book of Birds, Miller, p. 81. "Bliz-
zard" and "Three Sparrows that live in the House," from True Bird
Stories, Miller.

Do not tire the child with questions; lead him to question yon, instead. Be
sure, in any case, that he is more interested in the subject than ui the questions
about the subject.

88 Handbook of Nature-Study

THE CHIPPING SPARROW

Teacher s Story

HIS midget lives in our midst, and yet, not among all
bird kind, is there one which so ignores us as does the
chippy. It builds its nest about our houses, it hunts
for food all over our premises, it sings like a tuneful
grasshopper in our ears, it brings up its young to dis-
regard us, and every hour of the day it "tsip-tsips" us
to scorn. And, although it has well earned the name
of "doorstep sparrow," since it frugally gathers the
crumbs about our kitchen doors, yet it rarely be-
comes tame or can be induced to eat from the hand, unless it is trained
so to do as a nestling.

Its cinnamon-brown cap and tiny black forehead, the gray streak over
the eye and the black through it, the gray cheeks and the pale gray,
unspotted breast distinguish it from the other sparrows, although its
brown back streaked with darker, and brown wings and blackish tail
have a very sparrowish look; the two whitish wing bars are not striking;
it has a bill fitted for shelling seeds, a characteristic of all the sparrows.
Despite its seed-eating bill, the chippy's food is thirty-eight per-cent
insects, and everyone should read what Mr. Forbush says about the good
work this little bird does in our gardens and to our trees. It takes in
large numbers cabbage caterpillars, the pea louse, the beet leaf-miners,
leaf hoppers, grasshoppers, cutworms, and does its best to annihilate the
caterpillars of the terrible gypsy and browntail moths. In fact, it works
for our benefit even in its vegetable food, as this consists largely of the
seeds of weeds and undesirable grasses. It will often fly up from its
perch after flies or moths, like a flycatcher; and the next time we note it,
it will be hopping around hunting for the crumbs we have scattered for it
on the piazza floor. The song of the chippy is more interesting to it than
to us; it is a continuous performance of high, shrill, rapid notes, all ahke
so far as I can detect ; when it utters many of these in rapid succession it
is singing, but when it gives them singly they are call notes or mere
conversation.

One peculiarity of the nest has given this sparrow the common name
of hair-bird, for the Hning is almost always of long, coarse hair, usually
treasure trove from the tails of horses or cattle switched off against boards,
burs or other obstacles. Of the many nests I have examined, black
horsehair was the usual lining; but two nests in our yard show the
chippv to be a resourceful bird; evidently the hair market was exhausted
and the soft, dead needles of the white pine were used instead and made
a most satisfactory lining. The nest is tiny and shallow; the outside is
of fine grass or rootlets carefully but not closely woven together; it is
placed in vine or tree, usually not more than ten or fifteen feet from the
ground; a vine of a piazza is a favorite nesting site. Once a bold pair
built directly above the entrance to our front door and mingled cheer-
fully with other visitors. Usually, however, the nest is so hidden that it
is not discovered until after the leaves have fallen. The eggs are light
blue tinged with green, with fine, purphsh brown specks or markings
scrawled about the larger end.

Bird Study

The chippy comes to us
in April and usually raises
two broods of from three to
five "piggish" youngsters,
which even after they are fully
grown follow pertinaciously
their tired and "frazzled out"
parents and beg to be fed;
the chippy parents evidently
have no idea of discipline
but indulge their teasing
progeny until our patience, at
least, is exhausted. The

The chipping sparrow.

young differ from the parents in having streaked breasts and lacking the
reddish crown. In the fall the chippy parents lose their red-brown
caps and have streaked ones instead; and then they fare forth in flocks
for a seed-harvest in the fields. Thereafter our chippy is a stranger to
us; we do not know it in its new garb, and it dodges into the bushes as
we pass, as if it had not tested our harmlessness on our own door-stone.
Reference — Wild Life, Ingersol, p. 132.

LESSON XX

Leading thought — The chipping sparrow is a cheerful and useftil little
neighbor. It builds a nest, lined with horsehair, in the shrubbery and
vines about our homes and works hard in ridding our gardens of insect
pests and seeds of weeds.

Methods — Begin this lesson with a nest of the chippy, which is so
unmistakable that it may be identified when found in the winter. Make
the study of this nest so interesting that the pupils will wait anxiously
to watch for the birds which made it. As soon as the chippies appear,
the questions should be asked, a few at a time, giving the children several
weeks for the stud v.

The Xcst

Observations — i. AVhcre was this nest found? How high from the
ground ?

2. Was it under shelter? How was it supported?

3. Of what material is the outside of the nest? How is it fastened
together? How do you suppose the bird wove this material together?

4. Of what material is the lining? Why is the bird that built this
nest called the "hair bird?" From what animal do 3'ou think the lining
of the nest came? How do you suppose the bird got it?

5 . Do you think the nest was well hidden when the leaves were about
it? Measure the nest across and also its depth; do you think the l)ird
that made it is as large as the English sparrow?

The Bird

6. How can vou tell the chippy from the English sparrow?

7. Describe m 3'our note-book or orally the colors of the chippy as
follows: beak, forehead, crown, marks above and through the eyes.

90 Handbook of Nature-Study

cheeks, throat, breast, wings and tail. Note if the wings have whitish
bars and how many.

8. Describe the shape of the beak as compared with that of the robin.
What is this shaped bill meant for?

9. What is the food of the chippy? Why has it been called the
doorstep-sparrow ?

10. Note if the chippy catches flies or moths on the wing like the
phoebe-bird.

11. Why should we protect the chippy and try to induce it to live
near our gardens ?

12. Does it run or hop when seeking food on the ground?

13. How early in the season does the chippy appear and where does it
spend the winter?

14. Can you describe the chippy's song? How do you think it won
the name of chipping sparrow?

15. If you have the luck to find a pair of chippies nesting, keep a
diary of your observations in your note-book covering the following
points: Do both parents build the nest? How is the frame-work laid?
How is the finishing done ? The number and color of the eggs ? Do both
parents feed the yovmg? How do young chippies act when they first
leave the nest? How large are the young birds before the parents stop
feeding them ? What are the differences in color and markings between
parents and young?

THE FIELD-SPARROW

A bubble of music floats, the slope of the hillside over;

A little wandering, sparrow' s notes; and the bloom of yarrow and clover.

And the smell of sweet-fern and the bayberry leaf, on his ripple of song are stealing,

For he is a cheerfid thief, the ivealth of the fields revealing.

One syllable, clear and soft as a raindrop's silvery patter,
Or a tinkling fairy-bell; heard aloft, in the midst of the merry chatter
Of robin and linnet and wren and jay, one syllable, oft repeated;
He has but a ivord to say, and of that he ivill not be cheated.

The singer I have not seen; but the song I arise and follow

The brown hills over, the pastures green, and into the sunlit hollow.

With a joy that his life unto mine has lent, I can feel my glad eyes glisten,

Though he hides in his happy tent, ivhile I stand outside, and listen.

This way would I also sing, my dear little hillside neighbor!

A tender carol of peace to bring to the sunburnt fields of labor

Is better than making a loud ado; trill on, amid clover and yarrow!

There's a heart-beat echoing you, and blessing you, blithe little sparrow!

— Lucy Larcom

Bird Study

THE SONG SPARROW

Teachers' Story

"He does not wear a Joseph's coat of many colors, smart and gay
His suit is Quaker brown and gray, with darker patches at his throat.
And yet of all the well-dressed throng, not one can sing so brave a song.
It makes the pride of looks appear, a vain and foolish thing to hear
His "Siveet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer.''

A lofty place he does not love, he sits by choice and well at ease

In hedges and in little trees, that stretch their slender arms above

The meadow brook; and then he sings till all the field with pleasure rings;

And so he tells in every ear, that lowly homes to heaven are near

In 'Siveet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer.' "

— Hexry Va.v Dyke.

Children should commit to memory the poem from which the above
stanzas were taken; seldom in literature, have detailed accurate observa-
tion and poetry been so happily combined as in these verses. The lesson
might begin in March when we are all hstening eagerly for bird voices,
and the children should be asked to look out for a Httle, brown bird which
sings, "Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merr}^ cheer," or, as Thoreau interprets
it, "Maids! Maids! Maids! Hang on the teakettle, teakettle-ettle-
et'tle." In earlv childhood I learned to distinguish this sparrow by its
"Teakettle" song. Besides this song, it has others quite as sweet; and
when alarmed it utters a sharp "T'chink, t'chink."

The song sparrow prefers the neighborhood of brooks and ponds which
are bordered with bushes, and also the hedges planted by nature along
rail or other field fenc-es, and it has a special liking for the shrubbery about
gardens. Its movements and flight are very characteristic; it usually
sits on the tip-top of a shrub or low tree when it sings, but when disturbed

92 Handbook of Nature-Study

never rises in the air but drops into a low flight and plunges into a thicket
with a defiant twitch of the tail which says plainly, "find me if you can."

The color and markings of this bird are typical of the sparrows. The
head is a warm brown with a gray streak along the center of the crown
and one above each eye, with a dark line through the eye. The back is
brown with darker streaks. The throat is white with a dark spot on
either side; the breast is white spotted with brown with a large, dark
blotch at its very center; this breast blotch distinguishes this bird from
all other sparrows. The tail and wings are brown and without buff or
white bars or other markings. The tail is long, rounded and very expres-
sive of emotions, and makes the bird look more slender than the English
sparrow.

The nest is usually placed on the ground or in low bushes not more
than five feet from the ground; it varies much in both size and material;
it is sometimes constructed of coarse weeds and grasses ; and sometimes
only fine grass is used. Sometimes it is lined with hair, and again, with
fine grass; sometimes it is deep, but occasionally is shallow. The eggs
have a whitish ground-color tinged with blue or green, but are so blotched
and marked with brown that they are safe from observation of enemies.
The nesting season begins in May, and there are usually three and some-
times four broods; but so far as I have observed, a nest is never used for
two consecutive broods. The song sparrow stays with us in NewYork
State very late in the fall, and a few stay in sheltered places all winter.
The quality in this bird which endears him to us all is the spirit of song
which stays with him ; his sweet trill may be heard almost any month of
the year, and he has a charming habit of singing in his dreams, if sudden
noise disturbs his slumber.

The song sparrow is not only the dearest of little neighbors, but it also
works lustily for our good and for its own food at the same time. It
destroys cutworms, plant-Hce, caterpillars, canker-worms, ground beetles,
grasshoppers and flies; in winter it destroys thousands of weed seeds,
which otherwise would surely plant themselves to o^ir undoing. Every
boy and girl should take great pains to drive away stray cats and to teach
the family puss not to meddle with birds ; for cats are the worst of all the
song sparrow's enemies, destroying thousands of its nestlings every year.

LESSON XXI
The Song Sp.\rrow

Leading thought — The beautiful song of this sparrow is heard earlier in
the spring than the notes of bluebird or robin. The dark blotch in the
center of its speckled breast distinguishes this sparrow from all others;
it is very beneficial and should be protected from cats.

Methods — All the observations of the song sparrow must be made in
the field, and they are easily made because the bird builds near houses, in
gardens, and in the shrubbery. Poetry and other literature about the
song sparrow should be given to the pupils to read or to memorize.

Observations — i . Have you noticed a little brown bird singing a very
sweet song in the early spring? Did the song sound as if set to the words
"Little Maid! Little Maid! Little Maid! Put on the teakettle, tea-
kettle-ettle ettle?"

Bird Study 93

2. Where was this bird when you heard him sin.cjing? How hi^^h was
he perched above the ground? What other notes did you hear him utter?

3. Describe the colors and markings of the song sparrow on head,
back, throat, breast, wings and taih Is this bird as large as the English
sparrow? What makes it look more slim?

4. How can you distinguish the song sparrow from the other spar-
rows? When disturbed does it fly up or down? How does it gesture
with its tail as it disappears in the bushes?

5. Where and of what material does the song sparrow build its nest?

6. What colors and markings are on the eggs? Do you think these
colors and markings are useful in concealing the eggs when the mother
bird leaves the nest?

7 . How late in the season do you see the song sparrows and hear their
songs? Does this bird, when disturbed, fly up or down?

8. How can we protect these charming little birds and induce them to
build near our houses?

9. What is the food of the song sparrows and how do they benefit our
fields and gardens?

Supplementary reading— Onr Birds and Their Nestlings, Walker, pp.
43, 49, 50, 52; Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 80; Birds of Song and
Story,' Cxrinnell, p. 73; The Song Sparrow, Van Dyke; Birds Through
an Opera Glass, Merriam, p. 66; Field Book of Wild Birds, Mathews, p.
109; Wild Life, Ingersoll, p. 144; Audubon Leaflet No. 31.

THE SIXG-AWAY BIRD

Have you ever heard of the Sing-away bird,

That sings where the Runaway River
Runs down with its rills from the bald-headed hills

That stand in the sunshine and shiver?
"Oh, sing! sing-away! sing-away!"
How the pines and the birches are stirred
By the trill of the Sing-away bird!

And the bald-headed hills, with their rocks and their rills.

To the tune of his rapture are ringing;
And their faces grow young, all the gray mists among,

While the forests break forth into singing.
"Oh sing! sing-away! sing-aivay!"
And the river runs singing along;
And the flying winds catch up the song.

'T was a white-throated sparrow, that sped a light arrow

Of song from his musical quiver,
And it pierced with its spell every valley and dell

On the banks of the Runaway River.
"Oh, sing! sing-away! sing-away!"
The song of the wild singer laid
The sound of a soul thai is glad. — Lucy Larcom.

Hajidbook of Nature-Study

The jnockingbird .
Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.

THE MOCKINGBIRD

Teacher's Story

Among all the vocalists in the bird world, the mockingbird is unrivaled
in the variety and richness of his repertoire; and he has thus won his
place an\ong men, convincing many ignorant people by the means of his
voice that a bird is good for scmiething besides "victuals." The mocking-
birds go as far north as southern New England, but they are found at their
best in the Southern States and in California. On the Gulf Coast the
mockers begin singing in February ; in warmer climates they sing almost
the year through. During the nesting season, the father mocker is so
busy with his cares and duties during the day, that he does not have time
to sing and so devotes the nights to serenading; he may sing almost all
night long if there is moonlight, but even on dark nights he gives now
and then a happy, sleepy song. Not all mockingbirds are mockers;
some sing their own song which is rich and beautiful; while others learn
in addition, not only the songs of other birds, but their call notes as well.
One authority noted a mocker which imitated the songs of twenty
species of birds during a ten-minute performance. When singing, the
mocker shows his relationship to the brown thrasher by lifting the head

Bird Study 95

and depressing and jerking the tail. A good mocker will learn a tune, or
parts of it, if it is whistled often enough in his hearing; he will also
imitate other sounds and will often improve on a song he has learned from
another bird by introducing frills of his own ; when learning a song, he
sits silent and listens intently, but will not try to sing it until it is learned.
Although the mockingbirds live in wild places, they prefer the haunts
of men, taking up their home sites in gardens and cultivated grounds.
Their flight is rarely higher than the tree tops and is decidedly jerky in
character with much twitching of the long tail. For nesting sites, they
choose thickets or the lower branches of trees, being especially fond of
orange trees ; the nest is usually from four to twenty feet from the ground.
The foundation of the nest is made of sticks, grasses and weed stalks
interlaced and crisscrossed; on these is built the nest of softer materials,
such as, rootlets, horsehair, cotton, or in fact, anything suitable which is
at hand. The nest is often in plain sight, since the mocker trusts to his
strength as a fighter to protect it. He will attack cats with great ferocity
and vanquish them; he will kill snakes; often good-sized black snakes
have been known to end thus. The mocker, in making his attack, hovers
above his enemy and strikes it at the back of the head or neck; he will
also drive away birds much larger than himself.

The female lays from four to six pale greenish or bluish eggs
blotched with brown and which hatch in about two weeks; ^ then
comes a period of hard work for the parents, as both are indefatigable
in catching insects to feed the young. The mocker, by the way, is a
funny sight when he is chasing a beetle on the ground, lifting his wings
in a' pugnacious fashion. The mockers often raise three broods a
season'; the young birds have spotted breasts, showing their relationship
to the thrasher.

As a wooer, the mocker is a bird of much ceremony and dances into his
lady's graces. Mrs. F. W. Rowe, in describing this, says that the birds
stand facing each other with heads and tails erect and wings drooping;
"then the dance would begin, and this consisted of the two hopping
sideways in the same direction and in rather a straight line a few inches at
a time, always keeping directly opposite each other and about the same
distance apart. They would chassez this way four or five feet, then go
back over the same line in the same manner." Mrs. Rowe also observed
that the male mockers have hunting preserves of their own, not allowing
any other males of their species in these precincts. The boundary was
sustained by tactics of both offense and defense; but certain other species
of birds were allowed to trespass without reproof.

Maurice Thompson describes in a delightful manner the "mountmg"
and "dropping' ' songs of the mocker which occur during the wooing season .
The singer flits up from branch to branch of a tree, singing as he goes, and
finalK on the topmost bough gives his song of triumph to the world; then,
reversing the process, he falls backward from spray to spray, as^if drunk
with the ecstasy of his own song, which is an exquisitely soft "gurghng
series of notes, liquid and sweet, that seem to express utter rapture."
The mockingbirds have the same colors in both sexes; the head is
black, the back is ashy-gray ; the tail and wvngs are so dark brown that
they look black; the tail is very long and has the outer tail feathers
entirely white and the tv\^o next inner ones are white for more than half
their length; the wings have a strikingly broad, white bar. which is ver>'

96 Handbook of Nature-Study

noticeable when the bird is flying. The under parts and breast are
grayish white; the beak and legs are blackish. The food of the mocking-
birds is about half insects and half fruit. They live largely on the berries
of the red cedar, myrtle and holly, and we must confess are often too
devoted to the fruits in our orchards and gardens; but let us put down to
their credit that they do their best to exterminate the cotton boll cater-
pillars and moths, and also many other insects injurious to crops.

The mocker is full of tricks and is distinctly a bird of humor. He will
frighten other birds by screaming like a hawk and then seem to chuckle
over the joke.

Sidney Lanier describes him well.

Whatever birds did or dreamed, this bird could say.
Then down he shot, bounced airily along
The sward, twitched in a grassJiopper, made song
Midjlight, perched, prinked, and to his art again.

LESSON XXII
The Mockixg Bird

Leading thought — The mockingbird is the only one of our common
birds that sings regularly at night. It imitates the songs of other I'irds
and has also a beautiful song of its own. When feeding their nestlings,
the mockers do us great service by destroying insect pests.

Method — Studies of this bird are best made individually by the pupils
through watching the mockers which haunt the houses and shrubbery.
If there are mockingbirds near the schoolhouse the work can be done in
the most ideal way by keeping records in the school of all the observations
made by the pupils, thus bringing out an interesting mockingbird story.
The experiment in teaching songs to the birds may best be made with pet
mockers.

Observations — i. At what months of the year and for how many
months does the mxockingbird sing in this locality?

2. Does he sing only on moonlight nights? Does he sing all night?

3. Can you distinguish the true mockingbird song from the songs
which he has learned from other birds ? Describe the actions of a mocker
when he is singing.

4. How many songs of other birds have you heard a mocker give and
what are the names of these birds?

5. Have you ever taught a mocker a tune by whistling it in his
presence? If so, tell how long before he learned it and how he acted
while learning.

Describe the flight of the mockingbirds. Do they fly high in the air
like crows?

7. Do these birds like best to live in wild places or about houses and
gardens?

8. Where do they choose sites for their nests? Do they make an
effort to hide the nest? If not, why?

9. Of what material is the nest made? How is it lined? How far
from the ground is it placed?

10. What are the colors of the eggs? How many are usually laid?
How long before they hatch?

Bird Study 97

11. Give instances of the parents' devotion to the young birds.

12. Have you seen two mockingbirds dancing before each other just
before the nesting season?

13. In the spring have you heard a mocker sing while mounting from
the lower to the upper branches of a tree and then after pouring forth his
best song fall backward with a sweet, gurgling song as if intoxicated with
his music?

14. How many broods does a pair of mockers raise during one season ?
How does the color of the breast of the young difEer from that of the
parent ?

15. How does the father bird protect the nestlings from other birds,
cats and snakes?

16. Does the mocker select certain places for his own hunting grounds
and drive off other mockers which trespass?

17. Describe the colors of the mockingbird as follows: Beak, head,
back, tail, wings, throat, breast, under parts and feet.

18. What is the natural food of the mockingbirds and how do they
benefit the farmer? How does the mocker act when attacking a ground
beetle?

19. Have you seen mockingbirds frighten other birds by imitating
the cry of a hawk? Have you seen them play other kinds of tricks?

20. Write a little story which shall include your own observations on
the ways of pet mockingbirds which 3^ou have known.

Supplementary reading — True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 142; Bob, by
Sidney Lanier; Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 34; Birds of Song and
Story, Grinnell, p. 29; Stories About Birds, Kirby, p. 94.

"Soft and low the song began: I scarcely caught it as it ran
Through the melancholy trill of the plaintive tvhip- poor -will.
Through the ringdove's gentle ivail, chattering jay and ivhisiling quail,
Sparrow's twitter, catbird's cry, redbird's ivhistlc, robin's sigh;
Blackbird, bluebird, swalloiv, lark, each his native note might mark.

Oft he tried the lesson o'er, each time louder than before;
Burst at length the finished song, loud and clear it poured along;
All the choir in silence heard, hushed before this wondrous bird.
All transported and amazed, scarcely breathing, long I gazed.
Now it reached the loudest swell; lower, lower, noiv it fell, —
Lower, lower, lower still, scarce it sounded o'er the rill."

— Joseph Rodman Drakb.

Handbook of Nature-Study

Catbird on nest.
Photo by Robert Matheson.

THE CATBIRD

Teacher's Story

"TJic Catbird sings a crooked song, in minors that are flat.
And, ivhen he can't control his voice he mews just like a cat.
Then nods his head ajid luh.isks his tail and lets it go at that.''

— Oliver Davie.

As a performer, the catbird distinctly belongs to the vaudeville, even
going so far as to appear in slate-colored tights. His specialties range
from the most exquisite song to the most strident of scolding notes; his
nasal "n-y-a-a-h, n-y-a-a-h" is not so very much like the cat's mew after
all, but when addressed to the intruder it means "get out;" and not in the
whole gamut of bird notes is there another which so quickly inspires the
listener with this desire. I once trespassed upon the territory of a well-
grown catbird family and the squalling that ensued was ear-splitting; as
I retreated, the triumphant youngsters followed me for a few rods with
every sign of triumph in their actions and voices; they obviously enjoyed
my apparent fright. The catbirds have rather a pleasant "cluck, cluck"
when talking to each other, hidden in the bushes, and they also have a
variety of other notes. The true song of the catbird, usually given in the
early morning, is very beautiful. Mr. Mathews thinks it is a medley
gathered from other birds, but it seems to me very inrlividual. However,
true to his vaudeville training, this bird is likely to introduce into the
middle or at the end of his exquisite song some phrase that suggests his
cat call. He is, without doubt, a true mocker and will often imitate
the robin's song, and also if opportunity offers learns to converse fluently
in chicken language. One spring morning, I heard outside my window

Bird Study 99

the mellow song of the cardinal, which is a rare visitor in New York, but
there was no mistaking the "tor-re-do, tor-re-do." I sprang from my bed
and rushed to the window only to see a catbird singing the cardinal song,
and thus telling me that he had come from the sunny South and the
happy companionship of these brilliant birds. Often when the catbird is
singing, he sits on the topmost spray of some shrub lifting his head and
depressing his tail, like a brown thrasher; and again, he sings completely
hidden in the thicket.

In appearance the catbird is tailor-made, belonging to the same social
class as the cedar-bird and the barn swallow. However, it affects quiet
colors, and its well-fitting costume is all slate-gray except the top of the
head and the tail which are black; the feathers beneath the base of the
tail are brownish. The catbird is not so large as the robin, and is of very
different shape; it is far more slender and has a long, emotional tail.
The way the catbird twitches and tilts its tail, as it hops along the ground
or alights in a bush, is very characteristic. It is a particularly aleii: and
nervous bird, always on the watch for intruders, and the first to give
warning to all other birds of their approach. It is a good fighter in
defending its nest, and there are several observed instances where it has
fought to defend the nest of other species of birds; and it has gone even
further in its philanthropy, by feeding their orphaned nestlings.

The catbird chooses a nesting site in a low tree or shrub or brier, where
the nest is built usually about four feet from the ground. The nest looks
untidy, but is strongly made of sticks, coarse grass, weeds, bark strips
and occasionally paper; it is lined with soft roots and is almost always
well hidden in dense foliage. The eggs are from three to five in number
and are dark greenish blue. Both parents work hard feeding the young
and for this "purpose destroy many insects which we can well spare.
Sixty-two per cent, of the food of the young has been found in one instance
to be cutworms, showing what a splendid work the parents do in our
gardens. In fact, during a large part of the summer, while these birds
are rearing their two broods, they benefit us greatly by destroying the
insect pests; and although later they may attack our fruits and berries, it
almost seems as if they had earned the right to their share. If we only
had the wisdom to plant along the fences some elderberries or Russian
mulberries, the catbirds as well as the robins would feed upon them instead
of the cultivated fruits.

The catbirds afford a striking example for impressing upon children
that each species of birds haunts certain kinds of places. The catbirds are
never found in deep woods nor in open fields, but always near low thickets
along streams, and in shrubbery along fences, in tangles of vines, and
especially do they like to build about our gardens, if we protect them.
They are very fond of bathing, and if fresh water is given them for this
purpose, we may have opportunity to witness the most thorough bath a
bird can'take. A catbird takes a long time to bathe and preen its feathers
and indulges in most luxurious sun baths and thus deservedly earns the
epithet of "well-groomed;" it is one of the most intelligent of all our birds
and soon learns "what is what," and repays in the most surprising way
the trouble of careful observation.

loo Haftdbook of N ature-Study

LESSON XXIII
The Catbird

Leading thought — The catbird has a beautiful song as well as the harsh
"miou," and can imitate other birds, although not so well as the mocking-
bird. It builds in low thickets and shrubbery and during the nesting
season is of great benefit to our gardens.

Methods — First, let the pupils study and report upon the songs,
scoldings and other notes of this our northern mockingbird; then let
them describe its appearance and habits. Of course, the study must be
made outside of school hours in the field.

Observations — i. Do you think the squall of the catbird sounds like
the mew of a cat ? When does the bird use this note and what for ? What
other notes have you heard it utter?

2. Describe as well as you can the catbird's true song. Are there any
harsh notes in it? Where does he sit while singing? Describe his actions
while singing.

3 . Have you ever heard the catbird imitate the songs of other birds
or other noises?

4. Describe the catbird as follows: its size and shape compared to
the robin; the color and shape of head, beak, wings, tail, breast and
under parts.

5. Describe its peculiar actions and its characteristic movements.

6. Where do catbirds build their nests? How high from the ground?
What material is used? Is the nest compact and carefully finished?
Is it hidden?

7. What is the color of the eggs? Do both parents care for the
young?

8. What is the food of the catbird ? Why is it an advantage to us to
have catbirds build in our gardens?

9. Do you ever find catbirds in the deep woods or out in the open
meadows ? Where do you find them ?

10. Put out a pan of water where the catbirds can use it and then
watch them make their toilets and describe the process. Describe how
they take sun baths.

Supplementary reading — "Monsieur Mischief," Nestlings of Forest and
Marsh, Wheelock; Our Birds and Their Nestlings, Walker, pp. 167, 174;
Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 37; Songs of Nature, Burroughs, p. 172:
Birds of Song and Story. Grinnell, p. 36.

"He sits on a bra itch of you blossoming bush.
This madcap cousin of robin and thrush,
And sings without ceasing the whole morning long;
Now wild, now tender, the wayward song
That flows from his soft, gray, fluttering throat;
But often he stops in his sweetest note.
And, shaking a flower from the blossoming bough.
Drawls out, "Mi-eu, mi-mv'"

— "The Catbird", EniTH M Thomas.

Bird Study

lOl

THE BELTED KINGFISHER
Teacher's Story

HIS patrol of our streams and lake shores, in his cadet
uniform, is indeed a military figure as well as a militant
personality. As he sits upon his chosen branch over-
hanging some stream or lake shore, his crest abristle,
his keen eye fixed on the water below, his whole bearing
alert, one must acknowledge that this fellow puts
"ginger" into his environment, and that the spirit
which animates him is very far from the "dolce far
niente" which permeates the ordinary fisherman. However, he does not
fish for fun but for business; his keen eye catches the gleam of a moving
fin and he darts from his perch, holds himself for a moment on steady
wings above the surface of the water, to be sure of his quarry, and then
there is a dash and a splash and he returns to his perch with the wriggling
fish in his strong beak; he at once proceeds to beat its life out against a
branch and then to swallow it sensibly, head first, so that the fins will not
prick his throat nor the scales rasp it. He swallows the entire fish, trust-
ing to his internal organs to select the nourishing part; and later he gulps
up a ball of the indigestible scales and bones.

The kingfisher is very different in form from an ordinary bird; he is
larger than a robin, and his head and fore parts are much larger in propor-
tion; this is the more noticeable because of the long
feathers of the head which he lifts into a crest, and
because of the shortness of the tail. The beak is very
long and strong in order to seize the fish and hold it
fast; but the legs are short and weak; the third and
fourth toes are grown together for a part of their
length; perhaps this is of use to the bird in pushing-
earth from the burrow, when excavating. The king-
fisher has no need for running and hopping, like the
robin and, therefore, does not need the robin's strong
legs and feet . His colors are beautiful and harmonious ;
the upper parts are grayish blue, the throat and collar
white, as is also the breast, which has a bluish gray
band across the upper part, this giving the name of
the Belted Kingfisher to the bird. The feathers of the wings are tipped with
white and the tail feathers narrowly barred with white. The under side
of the body is white in the males, while in the females it is somewhat chest-
nut in color. There is a striking white spot just in front of the eye.

The kingfisher parents build their nest in a burrow which they tunnel
horizontally in a bank; sometimes there is a vestibule of several feet
before the nest is reached, and at other times it is built very close to the
opening. Both parents are industrious in catching fish for their nestlings,
but the burden of this duty falls heaviest upon the male. Many fish
bones are found in the nest, and they seem so clean and white that they
have been regarded as nest lining. Wonderful tales are told of the way
the English kingfishers use fish bones to support the earth above their
nests, and tributes have been paid to their architectural skill. But it is
generally conceded that the lining of fish bones in nests of our kingfisher
is incidental, since the food of the young is largely fish, although frogs,

Kingfisher' s foot.

This shows the weak
toes; the thini and
fourth are joined
together, which un-
doubtedly assists
the bird in push-
ing out soil when
e.xcavating.

I02

Handbook of Nature-Study

insects and other creatures are often eaten with reHsh. It is interesting
to note the process by which the young kingfisher gets its skill in fishing.
I have often seen one dive horizontally for a yard or two beneath the
water and come up indignant and sputtering because the fish had escaped.
It was fully two weeks after this before this one learned to drop like a
bullet on its quarry.

The note of the kingfisher is a loud rattle, not especially pleasant close
at hand, but not unmusical at a little distance. It is a curious coinci-
dence that it sounds very much like the clicking of the fisherman's reel;
it is a sound that conjures visions of shade-dappled streams and the danc-
ing, blue waters of tree-fringed lakes and ponds.

There seems to be a division of fishing ground among the kingfishers,
one bird never trespassing upon its neighbor's preserves. Unless it be
the parent pair working near each other for the nestlings, or the nestlings
still under their care, we never see two kingfishers in the same immediate
locality.

References — The Bird, p. 97; The Bird Book, pp. 154, 444.

The belted kingfisher.

Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.

LESSON XXIV

The Kingfisher

Leading thought — The kingfisher is fitted by
form of body and beak to be a fisherman.

Methods — If the school be near a stream or
pond the following observations may be made
by the pupils; otherwise let the boys who go
fishing make a study of the bird and report to
the school.

Observations — i. Where have you seen
the kingfisher? Have you often seen it on a
certain branch which is its favorite perch ? Is
this perch near the water? What is the
advantage of this position to the bird ?

2. What does the kingfisher feed upon?
How does it obtain its food? Describe the
actions of one of these birds while fishing.

3. With w^iat weapon does the kingfisher secure the fish? How long
is its beak compared with the rest of its body? How does it kill the fish?
Does it swallow the fish head or tail first? Why? Does it tear off the
scales or fins before swallowing it? How does it get rid of these and the
bones of the fish?

4. Which is the larger, the kingfisher or the robin? Describe the
difference in shape of the bodies of these two birds; also in the size and
shape of feet and beaks and explain why they are so different in form.
What is there peculiar about the kingfisher's feet? Do you know which
two toes are grown together?

5. What are the colors of the kingfisher in general? The colors of
head, sides of head, collar, back, tail, wings, throat, breast and under
parts ? Is there a white spot near the eye ? If so, where ? Do you know
the difference in colors between the parent birds?

6. Where is the nest built? How is it lined?

Bird Study 103

7. What is the note of the kingfisher? Does it give it while perching
or while on the wing? Do you ever find more than one kingfisher on the
same fishing grounds?

Supplementary reading — The Second Book of Birds, Chapter XXX;
"The Halycon Birds," Child's Study of the Classics; Audubon Leaflet
No. 19; "Kooskosemus," Long; American Birds, Finley.

THE KINGFISHER {OF ENGLAND)

For the handsome Kingfisher, go not to the tree.
No bird of the field or the forest is he;
In the dry river rock he did never abide.
And not on the brown heath all barren and ivide.

He lives where the fresh, sparkling ivaters are flowing,
Where the tall heavy Typha and Loosestrife are growing;
By the bright little streams that all joyfully run
AwJiile in the sJiadoiv, and then i}i the sun.

He lives in a hole that is quite to his mind.
With the green mossy Hazel roots firmly entwined;
Where the dark Alder-bough waves gracefully o'er.
And the Sword-flag and Arrow-head grow at his door.

There busily, busily, all the day long,
He seeks for small fishes the shallows among;
For he builds his nest of the pearly fish-bone.
Deep, deep, in the bank, far retired, and alone.

Then the brown Water-Rat from his burrotv looks out.
To see what his neighbor Kingfisher' s about;
And the green Dragon-fly, flitting slowly away.
Just pauses one mom-ent to bid him good-day.

O happy Kingfisher! What care shoidd he know.
By the clear, pleasant streams, as he skims to and fro.
Now lost in the shadow, now bright in the sheen
Of the hoi summer sun, glancing scarlet and green!

— Marv Howitt.

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Handbook of Nature-Study

THE SCREECH OWL

Teacher's Story

"Disquiet yourselves not. 'Tis nothing but a little, downy owl.'" — Shelley.

Of all the fascinating
sounds to be heard at night
in the woods, the screech
owl's song is surely the
most so ; its fascination does
not depend on music but
upon the chills which it
sends up and down the
spine of the listener, thus
attacking a quite different
set of nerves than do other
bird songs. The weird wail,
tremulous and long drawn
out, although so blood-
curdling, is from the stand-
point of the owlet the most
beautiful music in the
world; by means of it he
calls to his mate, cheering
her with the assurance
of his presence in the
world ; evidently she is not
a nervous creature. The
screech owls are likely to
sing at night during any
part of the year; nor should
Screech owls. we infer that when they are

From Country Life in America. singing they are not hunt-

ing, for perchance their music frightens their victims into fatal activ-
ity.' Although the note is so unmistakable, yet there is great varia-
tion in the songs of individuals; the great variety of quavers in the
song offering ample opportunity for the expression of individuality.
Moreover, these owls often give themselves over to _ tremulous
whispering and they emphasize excitement by snapping their beaks in
an alarming manner.

Any bird that is flying about and singing in the night time must be able
to see where it is going, and the owls have special adaptations for this.
The eyes are very large and the yellow iris opens and closes about the pupil
quite similar to the arrangement in the cat's eye, except that the pupil in
the owl's eye is round when contracted instead of elongated ; in the night
this pupil is expanded until it covers most of the eye. The owl does not
need to see behind and at the sides, since it does not belong to the birds
which are the victims of other birds and animals of prey. The owl is a
bird that hunts instead of being hunted, and it needs only to focus its eyes
on the creature it is chasing. Thus, its eyes are in the front of the head
like our own; but it can see behind, in case of need, for the head turns
upon the neck as if it were fitted on a ball-bearing joint. I have often

Bird Study 105

amused myself by walking around a captive screech owl, which would
follow me with its eyes by turning the head until it almost made the
circle, then the head would twist back with such lightning rapidity that I
could hardly detect the movement; it seemed almost as if the head was
on a pivot and could be moved around and around indefinitely. Al-
though the owl, like the cat, has eyes fitted for night hunting, it can also
see fairly well during the daytime.

A beak with the upper mandible ending in a sharp hook signifies that
its owner lives upon other animals and needs to rend and tear flesh.
The owl's beak thus formed is somewhat buried in the feathers of the face,
which gives it a striking resemblance to a Roman nose. This, with the
great, staring, round eyes, bestows upon the owl an appearance of great
wisdom. But it is not the beak which the owl uses for a weapon of
attack ; its strong feet and sharp, curved claws are its weapons for striking
the enemy and also for grappling with its prey. The outer toe can be
moved back at will, so that in grasping its prey or its perch, two toes may
be directed forward and two backward, thus giving a stronger hold.

The ear is very different in form from the ear of other birds; instead
of being a mere hole opening into the internal ear, it consists of a fold of
skin forming a channel which extends from above the eye around to the
side of the throat. (See The Bird, Beebe, p. 217). Thus equipped,
while hunting in the dark the owl is able to hear any least rustle of mouse
or bird and to know in which direction to descend upon it. There has
been no relation established between the ear tufts of the screech owl and
its ears, so far as I know, but the way the bird lifts the tufts when it is
alert, always suggests that this movement in some way opens up the ear

In color there are two types among the screech owls, one reddish
brown, the other gray. The back is streaked with black, the breast is
marked with many shaft-lines of black. The whole effect of the owl's
plumage makes it resemble a branch of a tree or a part of the bark, and
thus it is protected from prying eyes, during the daytime when it is sleep-
ing. Its plumage is very fluffy and its wing feathers, instead of being
stiff to the very edge, have soft fringes which cushion the stroke upon the
air. The owl's flight is, therefore, absolutely noiseless and the bird is thus
able to swoop down upon its prey without giving warning of its approach.

The screech owls are partial to old apple orchards for nesting sites.
They will often use an abandoned nest of a woodpecker; the eggs are
almost as round as marbles and as white as chalk, showing very clearly
that they are laid within a dark hole, otherwise their color would attract
the eyes of enemies. There are usually four eggs; the fub.sy little owlets
climb out of their home cave by the end of May and are the funniest little
creatures imaginable. They m.ake interesting but decidedly snappy pets;
they can be fed on insects and raw beef. It is most interesting to see one
wake up late in the afternoon after its daytime sleep. All day it has snt
motionless upon its perch with its toes completely covered with its fluffy
feather skirt. Suddenly its eyes open, the round pupils enlarging or con-
tracting with great rapidity as if adjusting themselves to the amount of
light. When the owl winks it is like a mioon in eclipse, so large are the
eyes, and so entirely are they obscured by the lids which seem like circular
curtains. When it yawns, it=: wide bill absurdly resembles a human mouth,
and the yawn is very human in its expression. It then stretches its wings
and it is astonishing how long this wing can be extended below the feet.

io6 Handbook of Nature-Study

It then begins its toilet. It dresses its feathers with its short beak,
nibbhng industriously in the flufif; it scratches its under parts and breast
with its bill, then cleans the bill with its toot, meanwhile moving the head
up and down as if in an attempt to see better its surroundings.

The owls are loyal lovers and are said to remain mated through life,
the twain being very devoted to their nests and nestlings. Sometimes
the two wise-looking little parents sit together on the eggs, a most happy
way to pass the wearisome incubation period.

The screech owls winter in the north and they are distinctly fore-
sighted in preparing for winter. They have often been observed catching
mice, during the late fall, and placing them in some hollow tree for cold
storage, whence they may be taken in time of need. Their food consists
to som^e extent of insects, especially night- Hying moths and beetles, also
caterpillars and grasshoppers. However, the larger part of their food is
mice; sometimes small birds are caught and the English sparrow is a fre-
quent victim. Chickens are rarely taken, except when small, since this
owlet is not as long as a robin. It swallows its quarry as whole as possi-
ble, trusting to its inner organs to do the sifting and selecting. Later it
throws up pellets of the indigestible bones, hair, etc. By the study of
these pellets, found under owl roosts, the scientists have been able to
determine the natural food of the bird, and they all unite in assuring us
that the screech owl does the farmer much more good than harm, since it
feeds so largely upon creatures which destroy his crops.

LESSON XXV

The Sckeech Owl

Leading thought — This owl is especiall}- adapted to get its prey at night.
It feeds largely on field mice, grasshoppers, caterpillars and other in-
jurious insects and is therefore the friend of the farmer.

Method — This lesson should begin when the children first hear the cry
of this owl; and an owlet in captivity is a fascinating object for the
children to observe. However, it is so important that the children learn
the habits of this owl that the teacher is advised to hinge the lesson on any
observation whatever made by the pupils, and illustrate it with pictures
and stories.

Observations — i. Have you ever heard the screech owl? At what
time of the day or night? Why was this? Why does the owl screech?
How did you feel when listening to the owl's song? ^

2. Describe the owl's eyes. Are they adapted to see by night?
What changes take place in them to enable the owl to see by daytime also?
In what way are the owl's eyes similar to the cat's? Why is it necessary
for an owl to see at night? Are the owl's eyes placed so that they can
see at the sides like other birds. How does it see an object at the sides or
behind it?

3. Note the owl's beak. For what purpose is a hooked beak? How
does the owl use its beak? Why do we think that the owl looks v.dse?

4. Describe the feet and claws of the screech owl. What are such
sharp hooked claws meant for? Does an owl on a perch always have three
toes directed forward and one backward ?

Bird Study 107

5. Describe the colors of the screech owl. Are all these owls of the
same color? How do these colors protect the bird from its enemies?

6. How is the owl's plumage adapted to silent flight? Why is silent
flight advantageous to this bird?

7. How does the owl's ear differ from the ears of other birds? Of
what special advantage is this? As tlie owl hunts during the night, what
does it do in the daytmie? How and by what means does it hide itself?

8. Where does the screech owl make its nest? Do you know any-
thing about the devotion of the parent owls to each other and to their
young? How many eggs are laid? What is their color? At what time
of vear do the little owls appear?

'9 Where does the screech owl spend the winter? What do the
screech owls feed upon ? Do they chew their food ? How do they get rid
of the indigestible portion of their food? How does this habit help the
scientists to know the food of the owls?

10. How does the screech owl work in jury to the farmers? How does
it benefit them? Does not the benefit outweigh the injury?

11. How many other kinds of owls do you know? What do you
know of their habits?

Supplementary reading- — Audubon Educational Leaflets, Nos. 22, 12,
14; Second Book of Birds, Miller, Chap. 32-3; Familiar Wild Animals,
Lottridge; "The Boy and Hushwing," Kindred of the Wild; "Koos, Koos,
Koos" in Wilderness Ways; Wings and Fins. chap. 19; Heart of Oak
Books, Vol. 4, p. 51; The Aziola, Shelley; American Birds, Finley.

TWO WISE OWLS

We are two dusky owls, and ive live in a tree;

Look at her, — look at me!
Look at her, — she's my mate, and the mother of three

Pretty owlets, and we
Have a warm cosy nest, just as snug as can be.

We are both very ivise; for our heads, as you see,

(Look at her — look at me!)
Are as large as the heads of four birds ought to be;

And our horns, you'll agree.
Make ^ls look wiser still, sitting here on the tree.

And we care not how gloomy the night-time may be;

We can see, — we can see
Through the forest to roam, it suits her, it suits me;

And we're free, — we are free
To bring back what we find, to our nest in the tree.

— Anonymous.

io8

Hmtdbook of Nature-Study

Red-tailed Jiaivk on nest.
Photo by R. W. Hegner.

THE HEN HAWKS

Teacher's Story

"Above the tumult of the canon lifted, the gray hawk breathless hung,
Or on tJie hill a u'inged shadoiv drifted ■u.-here furze and thornbtish clung."

— Bret Harte.

It is the teacher's duty and privilege to try to revolutionize some
popular misconceptions about birds, and two birds, in great need in this
respect, are the so-called hen hawks. They are most unjustly treated,
largely because most farmers consider that a "hawk is a hawk," and should
always be shot to save the poultry, although there is as much difference
in the habits of hawks as there is in those of men. The so-called hen
hawks are the red-shouldered and the red-tailed species, the latter being
somewhat the larger and rarer of the two; both are very large birds; the
red-shouldered has cinnamon brown epaulets, the tail blackish, crossed
by five or six narrow white bars, and the wing feathers are also barred.
The red-tailed species has dark brown wings, the feathers not barred, and
is distinguished by its tail which is brilliant cinnamon color with a black
bar across it near the end; it is silvery white beneath. When the hawk
is soaring, its tail shows reddish as it wheels in the air. Both birds are
brown above and whitish below, streaked with brown.

The flight of these hawks is alike and is very beautiful ; it consists of
soaring on outstretched wings in wide circles high in the air, and is the
ideal of graceful aerial motion. In rising, the bird faces the wind and
drops a little in the circle as its back turns to the leeward, and thus it
climbs an invisible winding stair until it is a mere speck in the sky. This
wonderful flight, on motionless wings, is what has driven to despair our
inventors of airships who have not been able to fathom the mystery of it
from a practical standpoint. When the bird wishes to drop, it lifts and

Bird Sttidy

109

holds its wings above its back, and comes down like a lump of lead, only
to catch itself whenever it chooses to begin again to climb the invisible
spiral. And all this is done without fatigue, for these birds have been
observed to soar thus for hours together without coming to earth. When
thus soaring the two species may be distinguished from each other by
their cries; the red-tailed gives a high sputtering scream, which Chapman
likens to the sound of escaping steam; while the red-shouJdered calls in a
high not unmusical note "kee-you, kee-you" or "tee-ur, tee-ur."

The popular fallacy for the teacher to correct about these birds, is that
they are enemies of the farmers. Not until one has actually been seen to
catch the chickens should it be shot, for very few of them are guilty of this
sin. Sixty-six per cent, of the food of the red-tailed species consists of
injurious animals, i. e., mice and gophers, etc., and only 7 per cent, con-
sists of poultry; the victims are probably old or disabled fowls, and fall
an easy prey; this bird much prefers mice and reptiles to poultry. The
more common red-shouldered hawk feeds generally on mice, snakes,
frogs, fish and is very fond of grasshoppers. Ninety per cent, of its food
consists of creatures which injure our crops or pastures and scarcely i]4
per cent, is made up of poultry and game. These facts have been ascer-
tained by the experts in the department of Agriculture at Washington
who have examined the stomachs of hundreds of these hawks taken from
different locaHties. Furthennore, Dr. Fisher states that a pair of the red-
shouldered hawks bred for successive years within a few hundred yards of
a poultry farm, containing 800 young chickens and 400 ducks, and the
owner never saw them attempt to
catch a fowl.

However, there are certain
species of hawks which are to be
feared; these are the Cooper's
hawk and the sharp-shinned
hawk, the first being very destruc-
tive to poultry and the latter kill-
mg many wild birds. These are
both somewhat smaller than the
species we are studying. They
are dark gray above and have very
long tails, and when flying, they
flap their wings for a time and
then glide a distance. They do
not soar on motionless outspread
pinions by the hour.

When hawks are seen soaring,
they are likely to be hunting for
mice in the meadows below them ;
their eyes are remarkably keen;
they can see a moving creature
from a great height, and can
suddenly drop upon it Hke a
thunder bolt out of a clear sky.
Their wonderful eyes are far-
sighted when they are circling in
the sky, but as they drop, the

p^-"^---'j

■,V ...jl

^S^^^^rf^^^ ^'

Br 4. ,^

Hf-nnwl^n^^ -Ji^-^rf^Wfc. t'^^^ai

The red-tailed hawk.

no Handbook of Nature-Study

focus of the eyes changes automatically with great rapidity, so that
by the time they reach the earth they are near-sighted, a feat quite im-
possible for our eyes unless aided by glasses or telescope.

These so-called hen hawks will often sit motionless, for hours at a
time, on some dead branch or dead tree; they are probably watching for
something eatable to stir within the range of their keen vision. When
seizing its prey, a hawk uses its strong feet and sharp, curved
talons. All hawks keep their claws sharp and poHshed, even as
the warrior keeps his sword bright, so as to be ready for use;
the legs are covered by a growth of feathers extending down from above,
looking like feather trousers. The beak is hooked and very sharp and is
used for tearing apart the flesh of the quarry. When a hawk fights some
larger animal or man, it throws itself over upon its back and strikes its
assailant with its strong claws as well as with its beak; but the talons are
its chief weapons.

Both species build a large, shallow nest of coarse sticks and grass,
lined with moss, feathers, etc. ; it is a rude, rough structure, and is placed
in tall trees from fifty to seventy-five feet from the ground. Only two to
four eggs are laid; these are whitish spotted with brown. These hawks
are said to remain mated for life and are devoted to each other and their
young. Hawks and eagles are very similar in form and habits, and if the
eagle is a noble bird so is the hawk.

LESSON XXVI
The Red-shouldered axd Red-tail£d Hawks

Leading thought — Ignorant people consider all hawks dangerous
neighbors because they are supposed to feed exclusively on poultry.
This idea is false and we should study carefully the habits of hawks before
we shoot them. The ordinary large reddish "hen-hawks," which circle
high above meadows, are doing great good to the farmer by feeding upon
the mice and other creatures which steal his grain and girdle his trees.

Methods— Begin by observations on the flight of one of these hawks
and supplement this with such obseryations as the pupils are able to
make, or facts which they can discover by talking with hunters or others
and b)' reading.

Observations — i. How can you tell a hawk, when flying, from a crow
or other large bird? Describe how it soars? Does it move off in any
direction; if so, does it move off in circles? How often does it make
strokes with its wings ? Does it rise when it is facing the wind and fall as
it turns its back to the wind?

2. Have you seen a hawk flap its wings many times and then soar
for a time? If so, what hawk do you think it was? How does it differ
in habits from the "hen-hawks?"

3. Have you noticed a hawk when soaring drop suddenly to earth?
If so, why did it do this?

4. How does a hawk hunt? How can it see a mouse in a meadow
when it is so high in the air that it looks like a circling speck in the sky?
If it is so far-sighted as this, how can it be near-sighted enough to catch
the mouse when it is close to it? Would you not have to use field glasses
or telescope to do this?

Bird Study in

5. When a hawk ahghts what sort of a place does it choose? How
does it act?

6. Do hawks seize their prey with their ckiws or their beaks? What
sort of feet and claws has the hawk? Describe the beak? What do you
think this shaped beak is meant for?

7. Why do people shoot hawks? Why is it a sign of iguorance in
people to wish to shoot all hawks?

8. What is the food of the red-shouldered hawk as shown by the
bulletin of the U. S. Department of Agriculture or by the Audubon
leaflets?

2 9. Where does the hawk place its nest? Of what does it build its

nest?

10. Compare the food and the nesting habits of the red-shouldered

and red-tailed hawks?

11. How devoted are the hawks to their mates and their young?
Does a hawk, losing its mate, live alone ever after?

12. Describe the colors of the hen hawks and describe how you can
tell the two species apart by the colors and markings of the tail.

13. What is the cry of the hawk? How can you tell the two species
apart by this cry? Does the hawk give its cry only when on the wing?

14. Why should an eagle be considered so noble a bird and the hawk
be so scorned? What difference is there between them in habits?

Supplementary reading — Audubon Educational Leaflets Nos. 8, 9 and
10; "The Sparrow Hawk," Familiar Wild Animals, Lottridge; "Eyes as
Cameras," also pp. 101-102 The Bird Book, Eckstorm; pp. 317-319- 326,
Birds that Hunt and are Htmted; "Cloud Wings, The Eagle," in Wilder-
ness Ways; "The Sky King and His Family," "Hannah Lomond's
Bairn," in Neighbors with Wings and Fins, American Birds, Finley.

Reference books^The Bird, Beebe, pp. 389, 376, 208-211; Hawks and
Owls from the Standpoint of the Farmer, Fisher, U. S. Department of
Agriculture.

Yet, ere the noon, as brass the heaven turns.

The cruel sun smites with unerring aim.
The sight and touch of all things blinds and burns,

A)id hare, hot hills seem shimmering into -flame!

On outspread wings a hawk, far poised on high.

Quick swooping screams, and then is heard no more:

The strident shrilling of a locust nigh

Breaks forth, and dies in silence as before.

— "Summer Drought," by J. P. Irvine.

112

Handbook of Nature-Study

,'<--.,

±^:--\ I _..'._..

Swallows and swifts.
Drawn by L. A. Faertes for General Biology by J. G. Needham.

THE SWALLOWS AND THE CHIMNEY SWIFT

Teacher's Story

,HESE friendly little birds spend their time darting through
the air on swift wings, seeking and destroying insects
which are foes to us and our various crops. However, it
is safe to assume that they are not thinking of us as they
skim above our meadows and ponds, hawking our tiny
foes; for like most of us, they are simply intent upon
getting a living. Would that we might perform this
necessary duty as gracefully as they.

In general, the swallows have a long, slender, graceful
body, with a long tail which is forked ornotched, except
in the case of the eave swallow. The beak is short but
wide where it joins the head; this enables the bird to open its mouth wide
and gives it more scope in the matter of catching insects ; the swift flight
of the swallows enables them to catch insects on the wing; their legs are
short, the feet are weak and fitted for perching; it would be quite impos-
sible for a swallow to walk or hop like a robin or blackbird.

The eave, or cliff, swallows — These swallows build under the eaves of
bams or in similar locations. In early times they built against the sides
of cliffs; but when man came and built bams, they chose them for their
dwelling sites. The nest is made of mud pellets and is somewhat globular

Bird Stiuiy

113

in shape, with an entrance at one side. When building on the sides of
cliffs or in unprotected portions of a bam, a covered passage is built
around the door, which gives the nest the shape of a gourd or retort; but
when protected beneath the eaves the birds seem to think this vestibule is
unnecessary. The mud nest is warmly lined with feathers and soft
materials, and there are often many nests built so closely together that
they touch. The eave swallow comes north about May ist, and soon
after that, may be seen along streams or other damp places gathering
mud for the nests. It seems necessary for the bird to find clay mud in
order to render the nest strong enough to support the eggs and nestlings.
The eggs are white, blotched with reddish brown. The parents cling to

The barn swallow's feather bed.

the edge of the nest when feeding the young. Both the bam and eave
swallows are blue above but the eave swallow has the forehead cream
white and the rump of pale brick-red, and its tail is square across the end
as seen in flight. The bam swallow has a chestnut forehead and its outer
tail feathers are long, making a distinct fork during flight, and it is not
red upon the rump.

The ham swallows — These birds choose a bam where there is a hole in
the gable or where the doors are kept open all the time. They build upon
beams or rafters, making a cup-shai)ed nest of layers of pellets of mud,
with grass between ; it is well lined with feathers. The nest is usually the
shape of half of a shallow cup which has been cut in two lengthwise, the
cut side being plastered against the side of the rafter. Sometimes the

114

Handbook of Nature-Study

A bank swallow tenement.

Photo by J. T. Lloyd.

nests are more or less supported upon a beam or rafter; the eggs are
white and dotted with reddish brown. The bam swallows, aside from

their constant twittering, have also a
pretty song. Both parents work at
bviilding the nest and feeding the
young; there are likely to be several
pairs nesting in the same building.
The parents continue to feed the
young long after they have left the
nest; often a whole family may be
seen sitting on a telegraph wire or wire
fence, the parents still feeding the well-
grown youngsters. This species comes
north in the latter part of April and
leaves early in September. It winters
as far south as Brazil.

The bam swallow has a distinctly
tailor-made appearance ; its red-brown
vest and iridescent blue coat, with
deeply forked "coat tails" give it an
elegance of style which no other bird,
not even the chic cedar waxwing can
emulate.

The Bank Swallow — When we see a
sandy bank apparently shot full of
holes as by small cannon balls, we
may know that we have found a tenement of bank swallows. These
birds always choose the perpendicular banks of creeks or of railroad cuts
or of sand pits for their nesting sites; they require a soil sufficiently soft
to be tunneled by their weak feet, and yet not so loose as to cave in upon
the nest. The tunnel may extend from one to four feet horizontally in
the bank with just enough diameter to admit the body of the rather
small bird. The nest is situated at the extreme end of the tunnel and
is lined with soft feath-
ers and grasses.

The bank swallows
arrive late in April and
leave early in Septem-
ber. They may be dis-
tinguished from the
other species by their
grayish color above ; the
throat and breast are
white with a broad,
brownish band across
the breast; the tail is
slightly forked. The
rough-winged swallow,
which is similar in habits
to the bank swallow,
may be distinguished
from it by its gray breast
which has no dark band.

Bank swallow's nest with earth removed showing

tlie upward direction of the tunnel.

Photo by J T. Lioyd.

Bird Study

115

Tree swallows.
Photo by A. A. Allen.

The Tree Swalloiv — This graceful little bird builds naturally in holes in
trees, but readily accepts a box if it is provided. It begins to build soon
after it comes north in late April and it is well for us to encourage the tree
swallows to live near our houses by building houses for them and driving
away the English sparrows. The tree swallows live upon many insects
which annoy us and injure our gardens and damage our orchards; they
are, therefore, much more desirable neighbors than the English sparrows.
The tree swallows congregate in great numbers for the southern migration
very early in the season, often in early August. They are likely to con-
gregate in marshes, as are also the other swallows. In color the tree
swallow has a green metallic back and head, a pure white breast with no
band across it, and these peculiarities
distinguish it from all other species.

The Purple Martin — The martin is
a larger bird than the largest swallow,
bemg eight inches in length, while the
bam swallow does not measure quite
seven. The male is shining, steel-
blue above and below; the female is
brownish above, has a gray throat,
bro^vnish breast and is white beneath.
The martins originally nested in hol-
low trees but for centuries have been
cared for by man. The Indians were
wont to put out empty gourds for
them to nest in ; and as soon as
America was settled by Europeans,
martin boxes were built extensively.
But when the English sparrows came,
they took possession of the boxes, and
the martins have to a large extent

A martin luiise.

J J 5 Handbook of Nature-Study

disappeared, this is a pity since they are beneficial birds, feeding upon
insects which are injarious to our farms and gardens. They are
also delightful birds to have around, and we may possibly induce them to
come back to us by building houses for them and driving away the
sparrows.

The Chimney Swift

HEN the old-fashioned fire-places went out of use
and were walled up, leavmg the great old chimneys
useless, these sociable birds took possession of
them. Here they built their nests and reared their
young, and twittered and scrambled about,
awakening all sleepers in the neighborhood at
earhest dawn, and in many ways made themselves
a distinct part of family Hfe. With the disap-
pearance of these old chimneys and the growing use of the smaller
chimney, the swifts have been more or less driven from their close
association with people; and now their nests are often found in hay
barns or other secluded buildings, although they still gather in chim-
neys when opportunity offers.

The chimney swifts originally built nests in hollow trees and caves;
but with the coming of civilization they took possession of the chimneys
disused during the summer, and here is where we know them best. The
nests are shaped like little wall pockets; they are made of small sticks of
nearly uniform size which are glued together and glued fast to the chim-
ney wall by means of the saUva secreted in the mouth of the bird. After
the nesting season, the swifts often gather in great flocks and Hve together
in some large chimney; toward night-fall they may be seen circlmg about
in great numbers and dropping into the mouth of the chimney, one by
one, as if they were being poured into a funnel. In the morning they
leave in reverse manner, each swift flying about in widening circles as it
leaves the chimney. The swifts are never seen to alight anywhere except
in hollow trees or chimneys or similar places; their tiny feet have sharp
claws for clinging to the slightest roughness of the upright wall; the tail
acts as a prop, each tail feather en ding in a spine which is pressed against
the chimney side when the bird alights and thus enables it to clmg more
firmly. In this fashion the swifts roost, practically hung up against a

wall.

The swift has a short beak and wide mouth which it opens broadly to
engulf insects as it darts through the air. Chimney swifts have been
known to travel at the rate of no miles an hour. _

This bird should never be confused with the swallows, for when flymg,
its tail seems simply a sharp point, making the whole body cigar-shaped.
This character alone distinguishes it from the long tailed swallows. In
color it is sootv brown, with a gray throat and breast; the wings are long
and narrow and apparently curved. The manner of flight and appear-
ance in the air make it resemble the bat more than it does the swallow.

Bird Stvidy iij

Tree swallows.
Photo by A. A. Allen.

LESSON XXVII
The Swallows and Swifts

Leading thouglit — The swallows are very graceful birds and are exceed-
ingly swift fliers. They feed upon insects which they catch upon the
w^ns. There are five native swallows which are common — the eave, or
cliff, the barn, the bank, the tree swallow and the purple martin. The
chimney swift, although often called so, is not a swallow; it is more
nearly related to the hummingbird than to the swallows.

Method — The questions should be given as an outline for observation,
and may be written on the blackboard or placed in the field notebook.
The pupils should answer them individually and from field observation.
AVe study the swifts and swallows together to teach the pupils to distin-
guish them apart.

Observations — i. What is the general shape of the swallow? What
is the color of the forehead, throat, upper breast, neck, rump and tail?

2. Is the tail noticeably forked especially during flight?

3. Describe the flight of the swallow. What is the purpose of its
long, swift flight? How are the swallow's wings fitted for carrying the
bird swiftly?

4. Describe the form of the beak of the swallow. How does it get its
food ? What is its food ?

5. In what particular locations do you see the swallows darting
about? At what time of day do they seem most active?

6. Describe the swallow's legs and feet and explain why they look
so different from those of the robin and blackbird.

TJie Eave, or Cliff Swallow

7. Where do the eave swallows build their nests? Of what material
is the outside ? The lining? Describe the shape of the nest and how it is
supported.

8. How early in the spring do the eave swallows begin to make their
nests? Where and by what means do they get the material for nest
building? Are there a number of nests usually grouped together?

9. Describe the eave swallow's egg. Where do the parents sit when
feeding the young? AVhat is the note of the eave swallow?

10. AVhat are the differences between the barn and the eave swallow
in color and shape of tail?

The Barn Swallow

11. Where does ,the bam swallow place its nest? What is the shape
of the nest ? Of what material is it made ?

ii8

Handbook of Nature-Study

1 2 . What is the color of the eggs ? Describe the feeding of the young
and the sounds made by them and their parents. Do both parents work
together to build the nesc and feed the young?

13. Is there usually more than one nest in the same locality? When
the young swallows are large enough to leave the nest, describe how the
parents continue to care for them.

14. Have you ever heard the bam swallows sing? Describe their
conversational notes.

15. When do the bam swallows migrate and where do they go during
the winter? How can you distinguish the bam swallow from the eave
swallow?

The Bank Swallow

16. Where do the bank swallows build? What sort of soil do they

choose?

17. How does a bank look which is tenanted by these birds?

18. How far do the bank swallows tunnel into the earth? What is
the diameter of one of these tunnels ? Do they extend straight or do they
rise or deflect?

19. With what tools is the tunnel excavated? Where is the nest
situated in the tunnel and how is it lined?

20. How can you distinguish this species from the barn and eave and
tree swallows ? At what time do the bank swallows leave us for migration
south ?

TJie Tree Swallow

2 1 . Where does the tree swallow
make its nest? How does its nest
differ from that of the bam, eave, or
bank swallow ? When does it begin
to build?

22. How can we encourage the
tree swallow to build near our
houses? Why is the tree swallow a
much more desirable bird to have in
bird houses than the English spar-
row ?

23. Describe the peculiar mi-
grating habits of the tree swallow.
How can you tell this species from
the bam, the eave and the bank
swallows?

The Purple Martin

24. Compare the purple martin
with the swallows and describe how
it differs in size and color.

2 5 . Where did the martins build
their nests before America was
civiHzed? Where do they like to nest now? How do the purple martins
benefit us and how can we induce them to come to us?

A tree swallow.

Photo by Geo. Fiske, Jr.

Bird Study

119

The Chimney Swift

26. Where do the chimney swifts build their nests? Of what
materials is the nest made? What is its shape and how is it supported?
Where does the chimney swift get its glue for nest building?

27. Describe how the chimney swifts enter their nesting place at
night. Where and how do they perch ? Describe the shape of the swift's
tail and its use to the bird when roosting.

28. On what does the chimney swift feed and how does it procure this
food? Describe how its beak is especially fitted for this?

29. How can you distinguish the chimney swift from the swallows?
In what respect does the chimney swift resemble the swallows? In what
respects does it differ from them?

Stipplementary reading — "Chimney Swifts," Familiar Wild Animals,
Lottridge; The Chimney Swifts, Washington Irving; NestHngs of Forest
and Marsh, AVheelock, p. 191; "The Eave Swallow" and "The Purple
Martin" in The Bird Book, Eckstorm; The Second Bird Book, Miller;
True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 118; Our Birds and Their Nestlings, p. 155;
A Watcher in the Woods, Sharp, p. 163.

Nest of the ruhy-throat

hummingbird.

Photo by Geo. Fiske, Jr.

I20

Handbook of NaHire-Study

A hummingbird taking sweetened water from a flower.

Photo by Mary Pierson Allen. Courtesy of Bird Lore.

THE HUMMINGBIRD

Teacher's Story

Formerly it was
believed that this
daintiest of birds
found the nectar
of flowers ample
support for its
active life; but
the later methods
of discovering
what birds eat by
examining the
contents of their
stomachs, show
that the hum-
mingbird is an
insect eater of
most ravenous
appetite. Not
only does it catch insects in mid air, but undoubtedly takes them while
they are feasting on the nectar of the
tubular flowers which the humming-
bird loves to visit. Incidentally, the
hummingbird carries the pollen for
these flowers and may be counted
as a friend in every respect, since
usually the insects in the nectaries
of the flowers with long tubu-
lar corollas, are stealing nectar without
giving in return compensation to the
flower by carrying its pollen. Such in-
sects may be the smaller beetles, ants
and flies. The adaptations of the htmi-
mingbird's beak and long, double-
tubed tongue, are especially for secur-
ing this mingled diet of insects and
nectar. It is interesting to note that
the young hummingbirds have the
beak much shorter than when mature.
Its beak is exactly fitted to probe
those flowers where the hummimr-
bird finds its food. The tongue has the
outer edges curved over making a tube
on each side. These tubes are pro-
vided with minute brushes at the tips
and thus are fitted both for sucking
nectar and for sweeping up the insects.

The natural home of the humming- Til'o young hummingbirds in nest.
bird seems to have been in the Ameri- Half natural size.

Bird Study

121

can tropics. Our one species east of the Rocky Mountains with which we
are all familiar has a ruby throat. This comes to us after a very long
journey each j^ear. One species on the Pacific Coast is known to travel
three thousand miles to the north for the summer and back again in
winter.

Hummingbirds are not supposed to sing, but to use their voices for
squeaking when angry cr frightened. However, I once had the privilege
of Hstening to a true song by a hummingbird on the Pacific Coast. The
midget was perched upon a twig and lifted up his voice with every
appearance of ecstasy in pouring forth his lay. To my uncultured ear
this song was a fine, shrill, erratic succession of squeaks, "as fine as a
cambric needle," said my companion.

The nest of the hummingbird is a most exquisite structure; it is about
three-fourths of an inch in diameter on the inside and about half an inch
deep. It is, in shape, a symmetrical cup; the outside is covered with
lichens to make it exactly resemble the branch on which it rests; the
inside is lined with the down of plant seeds and plant fibres. The lichens
are often fastened to the outside with the silk web of spiders or cater-
pillars. The nest is usually saddled on a branch of a tree from lo to 50
feet above the ground. The eggs are two in number and white; they
look like tiny beans. The young are black and look, at first glance, more
like insects than like birds.

LESSON XXVIII

The Hummingbird

Leading thoiight — The hummingbird in
flight moves its wings so rapidly that we
cannot see them. It can hold itself poised
above flowers while it thrusts its long beak
into them for nectar and insects.

Method — Give the questions to the pupils
and let them make the observations when
they have the opportunity.

Observations — i. Where do you find
the hummingbird? What flowers was it
visiting? At what time of day? Can you
tell whether it is a hummingbird or a hawk-
moth which is visiting the flowers? At
what time of day do the hawk-moths

appear

hummingbird

ever ccnie

2. Does the
to rest? Describe its actions while resting.

3. What are the colors of the back, throat, breast and under parts?
How do you distinguish the mother hummingbird from her mate?

4. How does the hummingbird act when extracting the nectar?
How does it balance itself in front of a flower? Have you ever seen
hummingbirds catch insects in the air? If so, describe how they did it.

5. Describe the hummingbird's nest. How large is it in diameter?
What is the covering outside? With what is it lined?

122

Hmidbook of Nature-Study

Photo by A. A. Allen.

THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
Teacher's Story

The blackbirds are among our earliest visitors in the spring; they come
in flocks and beset our leafless trees like punctuation marks, meanwhile
squeaking like musical wheelbarrows. What they are, where they come
from, where they are going and what they are going to do, are the ques-
tions that naturally arise at the sight of these sable flocks. It is not
easy to distinguish grackles, cowbirds and rusty blackbirds at a glance,
but the red-wing proclaims his identity from afar. The bright red
epaulets, margined behind with pale yellow, is a uniform to catch the
admiring eye. The bird's glossy black plumage brings into greater con-
trast his bright decorations. That he is fully aware of his beauty, who
can doubt who has seen him come sailing down at the end of his strong,
swift flight, and balancing himself on some bending reed, drop his long
tail as if it were the crank of his music box, and holding both wings
lifted to show his scarlet decorations, sing his "quong quer ee-ee." Little
wonder that such a handsome, military looking fellow should be able now
and then to win more than his share of feminine admiration. But what
though he become an entirely successful bigamist or even trigamist, he has
proven himself to be a good protector of each and all of his wives and
nestlings; however, he often has but one mate.

"The red-wing flutes his 0-ka-lee" is Emerson's graphic description of
the sweet song of the red-wing ; he also has many other notes. He clucks
to his mates and clucks more sharply when suspicious, and has one alarm
note that is truly alarming. The male red-wings come from the South in
March; they appear in flocks, often three weeks before their mates arrive.
The female looks as though she belonged to quite a different species.
Although her head and back are black, the black is decidedly rusty; it is
quite impossible to describe her, she is so inconspicuously speckled with
brown, black, whitish buff and orange. Most of us never recognize her
unless we see her with her spouse. As she probably does most of the nest

Bird Study

123

building, her suit of salt, pepper and mustard renders her invisible to the
keen eyes of birds of prey. Only when she is flying, does she show her
blackbird characteristics, — her tail
being long and of obvious use as a
steering organ ; and she walks with
long, stiff strides. The red-wings
are ever to be found in and about
swamps and marshes. The nest is
built usually in May; it is made of
grasses, stalks of weeds and is lined
with finer grass or reeds. It is
bulky and is placed in low bushes
or among the reeds. The eggs are
pale blue, streaked and spotted with
purple or black. The young resem-
ble the mother in color, the males
being obliged to wait a year for
their epaulets. As to the food of
the red-wings here in the North,
Mr. Forbush says :

"Although the red-wings almost
invariably breed in the swamp or
marsh, they have a partiality for
open fields and plowed lands ; how-
ever, most of the blackbirds that
nest in the smaller swamps adjacent
to farm lands get a large share of
their food from the farmer's fields.
They forage about the fields and
meadows when they first come
north in the spring. Later, they
follow the plow, picking up grubs,
worms and caterpillars; and should
there be an outbreak of canker-
worms in the orchard, the black-
birds will fly at least half a mile to
get canker-worms for their young.
Wilson estimated that the red-
wings of the United States would

four months destroy sixteen

thousand two hundred million
larvffi. They eat the caterpillars

The mother red-wing, her nest and nestlings.

Photo by A. A. Allen.

of the gypsy moth, the forest tent-caterpillar, and other hairy larvae. They
are among the most destructive birds to weevils, click beetles, and wire-
worms. Grasshoppers, ants, bugs, and flies form a portion of the red-
wing's food. They eat comparatively little grain in Massachusetts
although they get some from newly sown fields in spring, as well as
from the autumn harvest; but they feed very largely on the seeds of
weeds and wild rice in the fall. In the South they join with the bobolink
in devastating the rice fields, and in the West they are often so numerous
as to destroy the grain in the fields; but here the good they do far out-
weighs the injury, and for this reason they are protected by law."

124

Handbook of Nature-Study

LESSON XXIX
The Red-winged Blackbird

The rcd-wiyiged blackbird.
After Audubon Leaflet No. 25.

Leading thought — The
red- winged blackbird
lives in the marshes
where it builds its nest
However, it comes over
to our plowed lands and
pastures and helps the
farmer by destroying
many insects which in-
jure the meadows, crops
and trees.

Method — The obser-
vations should be made

by the pupils individually in the field. These birds may be looked for in
flocks early in the spring, but the study should be made in May or June
when they will be found in numbers in almost any swamp. The questions
may be given to the pupils a few at a time or written in their field note-
books and the answers discussed when discovered.

Observations — i . How can you distinguish the red-winged blackbird
from all other blackbirds? Where is the red on his wings? Is there any
other color besides black on the wings? Where? What is the color of
the rest of the plumage ? . , ^ . .

2. AVhat is there peculiar in the flight of the red-wmg? Is its tail
long or short? How does it use its tail in flight? AVhat is its position
when the bird alights on a reed?

3. What is the song of the red-wing? Describe the way he holds his
wings and tail when singing, balanced on a reed or some other swamp
grass. Doesheshowoff his epaulets when singing? Why? What note
does he give v/hen he is surprised or suspicious? When frightened?

4. When does the red-wing first appear in the spring? Does he come
alone or in flocks? Does his mate come with him? Where do the red-
wings winter? Irx what localities do the red-wing blackbirds live ? Why
do they live there? What is the color of the mother red-wing? Would
you know by her looks that she was a blackbird? What advantage is it
to the pair that the female is so dull in color?

5. At what time do these birds nest? AVhere is the nest built? Of
what material? How is it concealed? What is the color of the eggs?

6. Do the young birds resemble in color their father or their mother?
Why is this an advantage?

7. Is the red-wing ever seen in fields adjoining the marshes? Uhat
is he doing there? Does he walk or hop when looking for food ? What
is the f ood^'of the red-wings ? Do they ever damage grain ? Do they not
protect grain more than they damage it?

8. What great good do the red-wings do for forest trees? For

orchards? . r ,1

0 At what time in the summer do the red-wmgs disappear from the
swamps? AVhere do they gather in flocks? Where is their special feed-
ing ground on the way south for the winter?

Bird Study

125

THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE
Teacher's Story

'I know his name, I know his note.

That so with rapture takes my soul;
Like flame the gold beneath his throat.

His glossy cope is black as coal.
O Oriole, it is the soig

Yon satig me from the Cottonwood,
loo young to feel that I was young,

Too glad to gness if life were good." — ^\'ILLIAM Dean Howells.

ANGLIXG from the slender, drooping branches of
the elm in ^vinter, these pocket nests look like some
strange persistent fruit; and, indeed, they are
the fruit of much labor on the part of the
oriole weavers, those skilled artisans of the bird
world. Sometimes the oriole "For the summer
voyage his hammock swings" in a sapling, placing
it near the main stem and near the top, otherwise
it is almost invariably hung at the end of branches
and is rarely less than twenty feet from the
ground. The nest is pocket-shaped, and usually
about seven inches long, and four and a half inches wide at the
largest part, which is the bottom. The top is attached to forked
twigs at the Y so that the mouth or door will be kept open to
allow the bird to pass in and out; when within, the weight of the
bird causes the opening to contract somewhat and protects the inmate
from prying eyes. Often the pocket hangs free so that the breezes may
rock it, but in one case we found a nest with the bottom stayed to a twig
by guy lines. The bottom is much more closely woven than the upper
part for a very good reason, since the open meshes admit air to the sitting
bird. The nest is lined with hair or other soft material, and although this
is added last, the inside of the nest is woven first. The orioles like to
build the framework of twine, and it is marvellous how they will loop this
around a twig almost as evenly knotted as if crocheted ; in and out of this
net the mother bird with her long, sharp beak weaves bits of wood fibre,
strong, fine grass and scraps of weeds. The favorite lining is horse hair,
which simply cushions the bottom of the pocket. Dr. Detwiler had a pet
oriole which built her nest of his hair which she pulled from his head; is
it possible that orioles get their supply of horse hair in a similar way? If
we put in convenient places, bright colored twine or narrow ribbons the
orioles will weave them into the nest, but the strings should not be long,
lest the birds become entangled. If the nest is strong the birds will use
it a second vear.

That Lord Baltimore founo in new America a bird weanng his
colors, must have cheered him greatly; and it is well for us that this
brilliant bird brings to our minds kindly thoughts of that tolerant, high-
minded English 'nobleman. The oriole's head, neck, throat and
part of the back are. black; the wings are black but the feathers are
margined with white; the tail is black except that the ends of the outer
feathers are yellow; all the rest of the bird is golden orange, a luminous

126

Handbook of Nature-Study

The Baltimore oriole.

color which makes him seem a splash of brilliant sunshine. The female,
although marked much the same, has the back so dull and mottled that

it looks olive-brown;
the rump, breast, and
under parts are yel-
low but by no means
showy. The advan-
tage of these quiet
colors to the mother
bird is obvious since it
is she that makes the
nest and sits in it
without attracting at-
tention to its location.
In fact, when she is
sitting, her brilliant
mate places himself
far enough away to
distract the atten-
tion of meddlers, yet
near enough for her
to see the flash of his
breast in the sunshine
and to hear his rich and cheering song. He is a good spouse and
brings her the materials for the nest which she weaves in, hanging
head downward from a twig and using her long sharp beak for a
shuttle. And his glorious song is for her alone; some hold that no two
orioles have the same song; I know of two individuals at least whose
songs were sung by no other birds; one gave a phrase from the Wald-
vogel's song in Sigfried; the other whistled over and over, "vSweet
birdie, hello, hello." The orioles can chatter and scold as well as sing.

The oriole is a brave defender of his nest and a m.ost devoted father,
working hard to feed his ever hungry nestlings ; we can hear these hollow
mites peeping for more food, "Tee dee dee. Tee dee dee", shrill and con-
stant, if we stop for a moment under the nest in June. The young birds
dress in the safe colors of the mother, the males not donning their bright
plumage until the second year. A brilliant colored fledgling would not
live long in a world where sharp eyes are in constant quest for little birds
to fill empty stomachs.

The food of the oriole places it among our most beneficial birds, since
it is always ready to cope with the hairy caterpillars avoided by most
birds; it has learned to abstract the caterpillar from his spines and is thus
able to swallow him minus his "whiskers." The orioles are waging a
great war against the terrible brown-tail and gipsy moths in New England;
they also eat click beetles and many other noxious insects. Once when
we were breeding big caterpillars in the Cornell insectary, an oriole came
in through the open windows of the greenhouse, and thinking he had
found a bonanza proceeded to work it, carrying off our precious crawlers
before we discovered what he was at.

The orioles winter in Central America and give us scarcely four months
of their company. They do not usually appear before May and leave in
early September.

Bird Study

127

A}i oriole nest- An anchor to the windward.
Photo by C. R. Crosby.

LESSON XXX

The Oriole

Leading thought — The oriole is the most skillful of all our bird archi-
tects. It is also one of our prized song birds and is very beneficial to the
farmer and fruit grower because of the insect pests which it destroys.

Method — Begin during winter or early spring with a study of the nest,
which may be obtained from the elms of the roadsides. During the first
week in May, give the questions concerning the birds and their habits.
Let the pupil's keep the questions in their note-books and answer them
when they have opportunity. The observations should be summed up
once a week.

Observations by pupils — i. Where did you find the nest? On what
species of tree? Was it near the trunk of the tree or the tip of the
branch?

2. What is the shape of the nest? How long is it? How wide? Is
the opening as large as the bottom of the nest? How is it hung to the
twigs so that the opening remains open and does not pull together with
the weight of the bird at the bottom? Is the bottom of the nest stayed
to a twig or does it hang loose?

128 Handbook of Nature-Study

3. With what material and how is the nest fastened to the branches?
Of what material is the outside made? How is it woven together? Is it
more loosely woven at the top than at the bottom ? How many kinds of
material can you find in the outside of the nest?

4. With what is the nest lined? How far up is it lined? With what
tool was the nest woven ? If you put out bright colored bits of ribbon and
string do you think the orioles will use them? Why should you not put
out long strings?

5. At what date did you first see the Baltimore oriole? Why is it
called the Baltimore oriole? How many other names has it? Describe
in the following way the colors of the male oriole: top of head, back,
wings, tail, throat, breast, under parts. What are the colors of his mate?
How would it endanger the nest and nestlings if the mother bird were as
bright colored as the father bird ?

6. Which weaves the nest, the father or the mother bird? Does
the former assist in any way in nest building?

7. Where does the father bird stay and what does he do while the
mother bird is sitting on the eggs?

8. What is the oriole's song? Has he more than one song? What
other notes has he? After the young birds hatch does the father bird
help take care of them?

9. By the middle of June the young birds are usually hatched and if
you know where an oriole nest is hung, listen and describe the call of the
nestlings for food.

10. Which parent do the young birds resemble in their colors? Why
is this a benefit?

11. What is the oriole's food? How is the oriole of benefit to us in
ways which other birds are not?

12. Do the orioles use the same nest two years in succession? How
long does the oriole stay in the North ? Where does it spend its winters ?

''Hush! 'tis he!
My oriole, my glance of summer fire,
Is come at last, and, ever on the watch.
Twitches the packthread I had lightly wound
About the bough to help his housekeeping, — -
Twitches and scouts by turns, blessing his luck.
Yet fearing me who laid it in his way.
Nor, more than wiser we in our affairs.
Divines the Providence that hides and helps.
Heave, ho! Heave, ho! he whistles as the twine
Slackens its hold; once more, now! and a flash
Lightens across the sunlight to the elm
Where his mate dangles at her cup of felt.'"

— "Under the Willows", Lowell.

Bird Study

129

THE CROW

Teacher's Story

.f?9#^H0REAU says: "What a perfectly New England
sound is this voice of the crow! If you stand still
anywhere in the outskirts of the town and listen, this
is perhaps the sound which you will be most sure to
hear, rising above all sounds of human ipdustry and
leadmg your thoughts to some far-away bay in the
woods. The bird sees the white man come and the
Indian withdraw, but it withdraws not. Its untamed
voice is still heard above the tinkling of the forge.
It sees a race pass away, but it passes not away.
It remains to remind us of aboriginal nature."

The crow is probably the most intelligent of all our native birds, it is
quick to learn and clever in action, as many a farmer will testify who has
tried to keep it out of com fields with various devices, the harmless
character of which the crow soon understood periectly. Of all our birds,
this one has the longest hst of virtues and of sins, as judged from our
standpoint; but we should hsten to both sides of the case before we pass
judgment. I find with crows, as with people, I like some more than I do
others. I do not like at all the cunning old crow which steals the suet I
put on the trees in winter for the chickadees and nuthatches; and I have
hired a boy with a shotgun to protect the eggs and nestlings of the robins
and other birds in my neighborhood from the ravages of one or two cruel

A pet crow.
Photo bv S. .\. Lottride.

i^o Handbook of Nature-Study

old crows that have developed the nest-hunting habit. On the other
hand, I became a sincere admirer of a crow flock which worked in a field
close 'to my country home, and I have been the chosen friend of several
tame crows who were even more interesting than they were mischievous.
The crow is larger than any other of our common blackbirds; the
northei-n raven is still larger, but is very rarely seen. Although the
crow's feathers are black, yet in the sunlight a beautiful purple iridescence
plays over the plumage, especially about the neck and back; it has a
compact but not ungraceful body, and long, powerful wings; its tail is
medium sized and is not notched at the end; its feet are long and strong;
the track shows three toes directed forward and one long one directed
backward. The crow does not sail through the air as does the hawk, but
progresses with an almost constant flapping of the wings. Its beak is
very strong and is used for tearing the flesh of its prey and for defense,
and in fact, for almost anything that a beak could be used for; its eye is
all black and is very keen and inteUigent. AVhen hunting for food m the
field, it usually walks, but sometimes hops. The raven and the fish crows
are the nearest relatives of the American crow, and next to them the
jays. We should hardly think that the bluejay and the crow were
related to look at them, but when we come to study their habits, much is
to be found in common.

The crow's nest is usually very large; it is made of sticks, of grape
vines and bark, sod, horse-hair, moss and grasses. It is placed in trees or
in tall bushes rarely less than twenty feet from the ground. The eggs are
pale bluish green or nearly white with brownish markings. The young
crows hatch in April or May. Both parents are devoted to the care of the
young, and remain with them during most of the summer. I have often
seen a 'mother crow feeding her young ones which were following her with
obstreperous caws, although they were as large as she.

While the note of the crow is harsh when close at hand, it has a musical
quality in the distance. Mr. Mathews says: "The crow when he sings
is nothing short of a clown ; he ruffles his feathers, stretches his neck, like
a cat with a fish bone in her throat, and with a most tremendous effort
delivers a series of hen-Hke squawks." But aside from his caw, the crow
has some very seductive soft notes. I have held long conversations with
two pet crows, talking with them in a high, soft tone and finding that they
answered readily in a Hke tone in a most responsive way. I have also
heard these same tones among the wild crows when they were talking
together, one note is a gutteral tremolo, most grotesque.

"Crows gather in flocks for the winter; these flocks number from fifty to
several hundred individuals, all having a common roosting place, usually
in pine or hemlock forests or among other evergreens. They go out from
these roosts during the day to get food, often making a journey of many
miles. During the nesting season they scatter in pairs and do not gather
again in flocks until the young are fully grown.

When crows are feeding in the fields there is usually, if not always, a
sentinel posted on some high point so that he can give warning of danger.
This sentinel is always an experienced bird and is keen to detect a
dangerous from a harmless intruder. I once made many experiments
with these sentinels; I finally became known to those of a particular flock
and I was allowed to approach within a few yards of where the birds were
feeding, a privilege not accorded to any other person in the neighborhood.

Bird Study

131

The crow is a general feeder and will eat almost any food; generally,
however, it finds its food upon the ground. The food given to nestlings
is very largely insects, and many pests are thus destroyed. The crows
damage the farmer by pulling the sprouting com and by destroying the
eggs and young of poultry. They also do much harm by destroying the
eggs and nestlings of our native birds which are beneficial to the' farmer;
they also do some harm by distributing the seeds of poison ivy and other
noxious plants. All these must be set down in the account against the
crow, but on the credit side must be placed the fact that it does a tremen-
dous amount of good work for the farmer by eating injurious insects,
especially the grubs and cut-worms which work in the ground, destroying
the roots of grasses and grains. It also kills many mice and other rodents
which are destructive to crops.

The best method of preventing crows from taking sprouting com is to
tar the seed com, which is planted around the edge of the field.

If any of the pupils in your school have had any experience with tame
crows they will relate interesting incidents of the love of the crow for glit-
tering objects. I once knew a tame crow which stole all of the thimbles
in the house and buried them in the garden; he would watch to see when
a thimble was laid aside when the sewing was dropped, and would seize it
almost immediately. This same crow persisted in taking the clothes-pins
off the line and burying them, so that he was finally imprisoned on wash-
days. He was fond of playing marbles with a little boy of the family.
The boy would shoot a marble into a hole and then Billy, the crow, would
take a marble in his beak and drop it into the hole. The bird understood
the game perfectly and was highly indignant if the boy took his turn and
made shots twice in succession.

References — The American Crow, Barrows & Schwartz, Bulletin
No. 6, Division of Ornithology, U. S. Department of Agriculture; Birds
in Relation to Man, Weed & Dearborn; Bird Neighbors, Blanchan;
Birds of Villages and Field, Merriam; Outdoor Studies, Needham.

LESSON XXXI

The Crow

Leading thouglit — The crow has the keenest intelligence of any of our
common birds. It does good work for us and also does damage. We
should study its ways before we pronounce judgment, for in some locali-
ties it may be a true friend and in others an enemy.

Methods — This work should begin in winter with an effort on the part
of the boys to discover the food of the crows while snow is on the ground.
This is a good time to study their habits and their roosts. The nests are
also often found in winter, although usually built in evergreens. The
nesting season is in early April, and the questions about the nests should
be given then. Let the other questions be given when convenient. The
flight, the notes, the sentinels, the food, the benefit and damage may all
be taken as separate topics.

The following topics for essay's should be given to correlate with work
in English: "What a pet crow of my acquaintance did;" "Evidences of
crow intelligence;" "A plea a crow might make in self-defence to the
farmer who wished to shoot him;" "The best methods of preventing crows
from stealing planted com."

1^2 Handbook of Nature-Study

Observations — i. How large is the crow compared with other black-
birds?

2. Describe its colors when seen in the sunlight?

3. Describe the general shape of the crow.

4. Are its w4ngs long and slender or short and stout?

5. Is the tail long or short? Is it notched or straight across the end?

6. Describe the crow's feet. Are they large and strong or slender?
How many toes does the track show in the snow or mud? How many
are directed forward and how many backward?

7. Describe a crow's flight compared with that of the hawk,

8. Describe its beak and what it is used for.
g. What is the color of the crow's eye?

10. When hunting tor food does the crow hop or walk?

11. Which are the crow's nearest relatives?

12. Where and of what material do the crows build their nests?

13 . Describe the eggs. At what time of the year do the young crows
hatch? Do both parents take care of and feed the young? How long
do the parents care for the young after they leave the nest?

14. What are the notes of the crow? If you have heard one give any
note except "caw," describe it.

15. Where and how do crows live in winter? Where do they live in
summer?

16. Do they post sentinels if they are feeding in the fields? If so,
describe the action of the sentinel on the approach ot people.

17. Upon what do the crows feed? What is fed to the nestlings?

18. How do the crows work injury to the farmer? How do they
benefit the farmer? Do you think they do more benefit than harm to the
farmer and fruit-grower?

19. Have you known of instances ot the crow's fondness for shining
or glittering articles, like pieces of crockery or tin?

Supplementary reading— "The Story ot Silver Spot" in Wild Animals
I have Known, Seton, Second Book of Birds, p. 117; "Jim's Babies" in
Nestlings of Forest and Marsh ; "How the Crow Baby was Punished, ' ' True
Bird Stories; "The Children of a Crow," and "The Scare Crow" by Ceha
Thaxter; Our Birds and their Nestlings; "Crow Ways," Ways of Wood
Folk, Long; "Not so Black as he is Painted," Outdoor Studies. Needham;
The Crows, John Hay; "Jack Crow," American Birds, Finley.

Bird Study

133

The cardinal grosbeak.
After Audubon Leaflet No. i:

THE CARDINAL GROSBEAK

Teacher'i Story

There never lived a Lord Cardinal who

possessed robes ot state more brilliant m

color than the plumage of this bird. By

the way, I wonder how many of us ever

think when we see the peculiar red, called

cardmal, that it gained its name from the

dress of this high f unctionaryof the church ?

The cardinal grosbeak is the best name for

the redbird because that describes it

exactly, both as to its color and its chief

characteristic, since its beak is thick and

large; the beak is also red, which is a rare

color in beaks, and in order to make its

''MU "% redness more emphatic it is set m a frame

^K \ of black feathers. The use of such a large

^K V beak is unmistakable, for it is strong

^K ^ enough to crush the hardest of seed shells

^^K or to crack the hardest and driest of

MK grains.

^W "What cheer! U'liat cheer!

That is the grosbeak's way,

Wtth his sooty face and hts coat of red"

sings Maurice Thompson. But besides
the name given above, this bird has been called in different localities
the redbird, Virginia redbird, crested redbird, winter redbird, Virginia
nightingale, the red corn-cracker, but it remained for James Lane
Allen to give it another name in his masterpiece, "The Kentucky
Cardinal."

The cardinal is a trifle smaller than the robin and is by no means slim
and graceful, like the catbird or the scarlet tanager, but is quite stout and
is a veritable chunk of brilliant color and bird dignity. The only other
bird that rivals him in redness is the scarlet tanager which has black
wings; the summer tanager is also a red bird, but is not so vermilion and
is more slender and lacks the crest. The cardinal surely finds his crest
useful in expressing his emotions; when all is serene, it lies back flat on
the head, but with any excitement, whether of joy or surprise or anger, it
lifts until it is as peaked as an old-fashioned nightcap. The cardinal's
mate is of quiet color, her back is greenish gray and breast bufty, while
her crest, wings and tail reflect in faint ways the brilliancy of his costume.

The redbird's song is a stirring succession of syllables uttered in a rich,
ringing tone, and may be translated in a variety of ways. I have heard
him smg a thousand times "tor-re'-do, tor-re'-do, tor-re'-do," but Dr.
Dawson has heard him sing "che'-pew, che'-pew, we'-woo, we'-woo;"
"bird-ie, bird-ie, bird-ie; tschew, tschew, tschew;" and "chit-e-kew,
chit-e-kew; he-weet- he-weet." His mate breaks the custom of other
birds of her sex and sings a sweet song, somewhat softer than his. Both
birds utter a sharp note "tsip, tsip."

The nest is built in bushes, vines or low trees, often in holly, laurel or
other low evergreens, and is rarely more than six or eight feet above the

134 Handbook of Nature-Study

ground. It is made of twigs, weed stems, tendrils, the bark of the grape
vine and coarse grass; it is hned with fine grass and rootlets; it is rather
loosely constructed but firm and is well hidden, for it causes these birds
great anguish to have their nest discovered. Three or four eggs are laid,
which are bluish white or grayish, dully marked with brown. The father
cardinal is an exemplary husband and father; he cares for and feeds his
mate tenderly and sings to her gloriously while she is sitting; and he
works hard catching insects for the nestlings. He is also a brave defender
of his nest and will attack any intruder, however large, with undaunted
courage. The fledglings all have the dull color of the mother and have
dark-colored bills. Their dull color protects the young birds from the
keen eyes of their enemies while they are not yet able to take care of
themselves. If the male fledglings were the color of their father, probably
not one would escape a tragic death. While the mother bird is hatching
the second brood the father keeps the first brood with him and cares for
them ; often the whole family remains together during the winter, making
a small flock. However, the flocking habit is not characteristic of these
birds, and we only see them in considerable numbers when the exigencies
of seeking food in the winter naturally bring them together.

The car dinals are fond of the shrubbery and thickets of river bottoms,
near grain fields, or where there is plenty of wild grass, and they only visit
our premises when driven to us by winter hunger. Their food consists of
the seeds of rank weeds, com, wheat, rye, oats, beetles, grasshoppers,
flies, and to some extent, wild and garden berries ; but they never occur in
sufficient numbers to be a menace to our crops. The cardinals may often
be seen in the com fields after the harvest, and will husk an overlooked ear
of corn and crack the kernels with their beaks in a most dexterous man-
ner. During the winter we may coax them to our grounds by scattering
corn in some place not frequented by cats; thus, we may induce them to
nest near us, since the cardinal is not naturally a migrant but likes to stay
in one locality summer and winter. It has been known to come as far
north as Boston and southem New York, but it is found in greatest num-
bers in our Southem States. Many nestlings were formerly taken, to ship
in cages to Europe, but the National Association for Bird Protection has
put a stop to this. In Ohio, no cardinal is allowed to be caged, and this
same law should protect this beautiful bird in every Southem state, since
it does not live long or happily in confinement. The cardinal's song is not
at its best in a cage, but as the poet Naylor says:

"Along the diist-white river road.
The saucy rcdbird chirps and trills;
His liquid notes resound and rise
Until they meet the cloudless skies.
And echo o'er the distant hills."

LESSON XXXII
The Cardinal Grosbeak

Leading thought — The cardinal is the most brilliantly colored of all our
birds and because of its color and song, it has been destroyed by thousands
as cage birds. We should seek to preserve it as a beautiful ornament to
our groves and grounds.

Bird Study 135

Methods — This work must be done by personal observation m the field.
The field notes should be discussed in school. The effect of the whole
lesson should be to stimulate an interest in protecting these beautiful
birds. If possible, send for outline figures of the cardinal for the children
to color; these outlines may be had at the cost of fifteen cents per dozen
from the Audubon Society, 141 Broadway, New York City.

Observations — i. Do you know the cardinal.? Why is it so called?

2. How many names do you know for this bird ?

3. Is the cardinal as large as the robin.'' Is it graceful in shape or
Stout ?

4. Is there any color except red upon it? If so, where?

5. What other vividly red birds have we and how can we distinguish
them from the cardinal?

6. Describe the cardinal's crest and how it looks when lifted. Why
do you think it lifts it ?

7. Describe its beak as to color, shape and size. What work is such
a heavy beak made for?

8. Is the cardinal's mate the same color as he? Describe the color of
her head, back, wings, tail, breast.

9. Can you imitate the cardinal's song? W^hat words do you think
he seems to sing? Does his mate sing also? Is it usual for mother birds
to sing? What other notes besides songs do you hear him utter?

10. Where does the cardinal usually build its nest? How high from
the ground? Of what materials? Is it compact or bulky? How many
eggs and what are their colors?

11. How does the father bird act while his mate is brooding? How
does he help take care of the young in the nest?

12. How do the fledglings differ in color from their father? From
their mother? Of what use to the young birds is their sober color?

13. What happens to the fledglings of the first brood while the mother
is hatching the eggs of the second brood ?

14. In what localities do you most often see the cardinals? Do you
ever see them in flocks?

15. What is the food of the cardinals? What do they feed their
nestlings?

16. How can you induce the cardinals to build near your home?

17. What do you know about the laws protecting the redbirds?
Supplementary reading — The Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. S;^',

True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 86; The Song of the Cardinal, Porter;
Audubon Educational Leaflet No. 18.

"Upon the f^ray old forest's ritn
I snuffed the crab-tree's sweet perfume;
And farther, ivhere the lij^ht was dim, I saw the bloom
Of May apples, beneath the tent
Of umbrel leaves above them bent;
Where oft was shifting light and shade
The blue-eyed ivy ivildly strayed;
The Solomon s seal, in graceful play.
Swung ^vhere the straggling siinliglit lay
The same as when I earliest heard
J. Ik Cardinal bird."

— W. S. Gallagher.

136

Hatidbook of Nature-Study

GEESE
Teacher's Story

called a goose should be considered most com-
plimentary, for of all the birds the goose is probably
the most intelligent. An observant lady who
keeps geese on her farm assures me that no animal,
not even dog or horse, has the intelligence of the
goose. She says that these birds learn a lesson
after a few repetitions, and surely her geese were
patterns of obedience. While I was watching them
one morning, they started for the brook via the
com field; she called to them sharply, "No, no,
you mustn't go that way!" They stopped and conferred; she spoke
again and they waited, looking at her as if to make up their minds to this
exercise of self-sacrifice ; but when she spoke the third time they left the
com field and took the other path to the brook. She could bring her
geese into their house at any time of day by calling to them, "Home,
home!" As soon as they heard these words, they would start and not
stop until the last one was housed.

In ancient Greece maidens made pets of geese; and often there was
such a devotion between the bird and girl that when the latter died her
statue with that of the goose was carved on her burial tablet. The
loyalty of a pet goose came under the observation of Miss Ada Georgia.
A lone gander was the special pet of a small boy in Elmira, N. Y., who
took sole care of him. The bird obeyed commands hke a dog but would
never let his little master out of his sight if he could avoid it ; occasionally
he would appear in the school yard, where the pupils would tease him by
pretending to attack his master at the risk of being whipped with his
wings so severely that it was a test of bravery among the boys to so chal-
lenge him. His fidelity to his master was extreme ; once when the boy

^-v^

Bird Study 137

was ill in bed, the bird wandered about the yard honking disconsolately
and refused to eat; he was driven to the side of the house where his mas-
ter could look from the window and he immediately cheered up, took his
food and refused to leave his post beneath the window while the illness
lasted.

The goose is a stately bird whether on land or water; its long legs give
it good proportions when walking, and the neck being so much longer
than that of the duck gives an appearance of grace and dignity. The
duck on the other hand is beautiful only when on the water or on the
wing; its short legs, placed far back and far out at the sides, make it a
most ungraceful walker. The beak of the goose is harder in texture and
is not flat like the duck's; no wonder the bird was a favorite with the
ancient Greeks for the high ridge from the beak to the forehead resembles
much the famous Grecian nose. The plumage of geese is very beautiful
and abundant and for this reason they are profitable domestic birds.
The "picking" occurs late in summer when the feathers are nearly ready
to be molted; at this time the geese flap their wings often and set
showers of loose feathers flying. A stocking or a bag is slipped over the
bird's head and she is turned breast side up, with her head firmly between
the knees or under the arm of the picker. The tips of the feathers are
seized with the fingers and come out easily; onh^ the breast, the under
parts and the feathers beneath the wings are plucked. Geese do not seem
to suffer while being plucked except through the temporary inconvenience
and ignominy of having their heads thrust into a bag; it hurts their
dignity more than their bodies.

The wings of geese are very large and beautiful ; although our domestic
geese have lost their powers of flight to a great extent, yet they often
stretch their wings and take little flying hops, teetering along as if they
can scarcely keep to earth; this must surely be reminiscent of the old
instinct for traveling in the skies. The tail of the goose is a half circle
and is spread when flying; although it is short, it seems to be sufficiently
long to act as a rudder. The legs of the goose are much longer than those
of the duck; they are not set so far back toward the rear of the body, and,
therefore, the goose is the much better runner of the two. The track
made by the goose's foot is a triangle with two scallops on one side made
by the webs between the three front toes; the hind toe is placed high up;
the foot and the unfeathered portion of the leg, protected by scales, are
used as oars when the bird is swimming. When she SAvims forward
rapidly, her feet extend out behind her and act on the principle of a
propeller; but when swimming around in the pond she uses them at
almost right angles to the body. Although they are such excellent oars
they are also efflcient on land; although when running, her body may
waddle somewhat, her head and neck are held aloft in stately dignity.

The Toulouse are our common gray geese; the Embdens are pure
white with orange bill and bright blue eyes. The African geese h ave a
black head with a large black knob on the base of the black bill; the neck
is long, snakelike, light gray, with a dark stripe down the back; the ^^'ings
and tail are dark gray; there is a dewlap at the throat. The brown
Chinese geese have also a black beak and a black knob at the base of the
bill. The neck is light brown with a dull yellowish stripe down the neck.
The back is dark brown, breast, wings and tail grayish broAATi. The white
Chinese are shaped like the bro^^^^ Chinese but the knob and bill are
orange and the eyes light blue.

1^8 Handbook of Nature-Stitdy

The Habits of Geese

Geese are monogamous and are loyal to their mates. Old-fashioned
people declare that they choose their mates on Saint Valentine's Day, but
this is probably a pretty myth; when once mated, the pair live together
year after year until one dies; an interesting instance of this is one of the
traditions in my own family. A fine pair of geese belonging to my
pioneer grandfather had been mated for several years and had reared
handsome families; but one spring a conceited young gander fell in love
with the old goose, and as he was young and lusty, he whipped her legiti-
mate lord and master and triumphantly carried her away, although she
was manifestly disgusted with this change in her domestic fortunes. The
old gander sulked and refused to be comforted by the blandishments of
any young goose whatever. Later the old pair disappeared from the
farmyard and the upstart gander was left wifeless. It was inferred that
the old couple had run away with each other into the encompassing
wilderness and much sympathy was felt for them because of this sacrifice
of their lives for loyalty. However, this was misplaced sentiment, for
later in the summer the happy pair was discovered in a distant "slashing"
with a fine family of goslings and were all brought home in_ triumph.
The old gander, while not able to cope with his rival, was still able to
trounce any of the animal marauders which approached his home and

family.

The goose lines her nest with down and the soft feathers which she
plucks from her breast. The gander is very devoted to his goose while
she is sitting; he talks to her in gentle tones and is fierce in her defence.
The eggs are about twice as large as those of the hen and have the ends
more rounded. The period of incubation is four weeks. The goslings
are beautiful little creatures, covered with soft down, and have large,
bright eyes. The parents give them most careful attention from the first.
One family which I studied consisted of the parents and eighteen goslings.
The mother was a splendid African bird; she walked with dignified step,
her graceful neck assuming serpentine curves; and she always carried her
beak "Hfted," which gave her an appearance of majestic haughtiness.
The father was just a plebeian white gander, probably of Embden descent
but he was a most efficient protector. The family always formed a
procession in going to the creek, the majestic mother at the head, the
goslings following her and the gander bringing up the rear to be sure
there were no stragglers; if a goshng strayed away or fell behind, the male
went after it, pushing it back into the family circle. When entering the
coop at night he pushed the little ones in gently with his bill ; when the
goslings took their first swim both parents gently pushed them into the
water, "rooted them in," as the farmer said. Any attempt to take
liberties with the brood was met with bristling anger and defiance on the
part of the gander; the mistress of the farm told me that he had whipped
her black and blue when she tried to interfere with the goslings.

The gander and goose always show suspicion and resentment by open-
ing the^Qouth wide, making a hissing noise, showing the whole round
tongue in mocking defiance. When the gander attacks, he thrusts his
head forward, even with or below the level of his back, and seizes his victim
firmly with his hard, toothed bill so that it cannot get away, and then with
his strong wings beats the life out of it. I remember vividly a whipping

Bird Study 139

which a gander gave me when I was a child, holding me fast by the blouse
while he laid on the blows.

Geese feed much more largely upon land vegetation than do ducks;
a good growth of clover and grass make excellent pasture for them ; in the
water, they feed upon water plants but do not eat insects and animals to
any extent.

Undoubtedly goose language is varied and expresses many things.
Geese talk to each other and call from afar; they shriek in warnmg and m
general make such a turmoil that people do not enjoy it. The goslmgs,
even when almost grown, keep up a constant "pee wee, pee wee," which is
nerve-racking. There is a good opportunity for some interesting investi-
gations in studying out just what the different notes of the geese mean.

The goose is very particular about her toilet, she cleans her breast
and back and beneath her wings with her bill, and she cleans her bill
with her foot, she also cleans the top of her head with her foot and the
under side of her wing with the foot of that side. When oiling her
feathers, she starts the oil gland flowing with her beak, then rubs her head
over the gland until it is well oiled; she then uses her head as a "dauber"
to apply the oil to the feathers of her back and breast. When thus pol-
ishing her feathers, she twists the head over and
over and back and forth to add to its efficiency.

WILD GEESE

HERE is a sound, that, to the weather-wise farmer,
means cold and snow, even though it is heard
through the hazy atmosphere of an Indian summer
day; and that is the honking of wild geese as they
pass on their southward journey. And there is not a
more interesting sight anywhere in the autumn
landscape than the wedge-shaped flock of these long-necked birds with
their leader at the front apex. "The wild goose trails his harrow,"
sings the poet; but only the aged can remember the old-fashioned harrow
which makes this simile graphic. The honking which reveals to us the
passing flock, before our eyes can discern the birds against the sky, is
the call of the wise old gander who is the leader, to those following him,
and their return salute. He knows the way on this long thousand-mile
journey, and knows it by the topography of the country. If ever fog
or storm hides the earth from his view, he is likely to become confused,
to the dismay of his flock, which follows him to the earth with many
lonely and distressful cries.

The northern migration takes place in April and May, and the southern
from October to December. The journey is made with stops for rest and
refreshment at certain selected places, usually some secluded pond or
lake. The food of wild geese consists of water plants, seeds and com,
and some of the smaller animals living in water. Although the geese come
to rest on the water, they go to the shore to feed. In California, the
wild geese are dreaded visitors of the cornfields, and men with guns are
employed regularly to keep them off.

The nests are made of sticks lined with down, usually along the shores
of streams, sometimes on tree stumps and sometimes in deserted nests of
the osprey. There are only four or five eggs laid and both parents are

I40

Handbook of Nature-Study

devoted to the young, the gander bravely defending his nest and family

from the attacks of any enemies.

Although there are several species of wild geese on the Atlantic

Coast, the one called by this name is usually the Canada goose. This

bird is a superb creature,
brown above and gray be-
' neath, with head, neck, tail,
bill and feet of black. These
black trimmings are highly
ornamental and, as if to
emphasize them, there is
a white crescent-shaped
"bib" extending from just
back of the eyes under-
neath the head . This white
patch is very striking, and
gives one the impression of
a bandage for sore throat.
It is regarded as a call-
color, and is supposed to
help keep the flock to-
gether; the side tail-coverts
are also white and make
another guide to follow.
Often some wounded or
- wearied bird of the migrat-
ing flock spends the winter
in farmyards with domes-
tic geese. One morning a
neighbor of mine found
that during the night a wild
gander, injured in some
way, had joined his flock.
The stranger was treated
with much courtesy by its
new companions as well as
by the farmer's family and
soon seemed perfectly at
home. The next spring he
mated with one of the
domestic geese. In the late
summer, my neighbor.
Wild geese -flying in even ranks. mindful of wild geese hab-

Photographed directly underneath by A. R. Dugmore. itS, clipped the wingS of the

Courtesy of Country Life in America. gander SO that he WOUld be

unable to join any passing flock of his wild relatives. As the migrating
season approached, the gander became very uneasy; not only
was he uneasy and unhappy always but he insisted that his
wife share his misery of unrest. He spent days in earnest remon-
strance with her and, lifting himself by his cropped wings to the top of
the barnyard fence, he insisted that she keep him company on this, for
web feet, uneasy resting-place. Finally, after many days of tribulation,

Bird Study 141

the two valiantly started south on foot. News was received of their prog-
ress for some distance and then they were lost to us. During the winter our
neighbor visited a friend living eighteen miles to the southward and
found in his barnyard the errant pair. They had become tired of
migrating by tramping and had joined the farmer's flock; but we were
never able to determine the length of time required for this journey.

LESSOX XXXIII

Geese

Leading thought — Geese are the most intelligent of the domesticated
birds, and they have many interesting habits.

Method — This lesson should not be given unless there are geese where
the pupils may observe them. The questions should be given a few at a
time and answered individually by the pupils after the observations are
made.

Observations — i. What is the chief difference between the appearance
of a goose and a duck? How does the beak of the goose differ from that
of the duck in shape and in texture? Describe the nostrils and their
situation.

2. What is the difference in shape between the neck of the goose and
that of the duck?

3. What can you say about the plumage of geese? How are geese
"picked?" At what time of year? From what parts of the body are the
the feathers plucked?

4. Are the wings of the goose large compared with the body? How
do geese exercise their wings? Describe the tail of the goose and how it
is used.

5. How do the legs and feet of the goose differ from those of the duck?
Describe the goose's foot. How many toes are webbed? Where is the
other toe? What is the shape of the track made by the goose's foot?
Which portions of the legs are used for oars? When the goose is swim-
ming forward where are her feet? When turning around how does she
use them? Does the goose waddle when walking or running as a duck
does? Why? Does a goose toe-in when walking? Why?

6. Describe the shape and color of the following breeds of domestic
geese : The Toulouse, the Embden, the African, and Chinese.

Habits of Geese

1. What is the chief food of geese? What do they find in the water
to eat? How does their food differ from that of ducks?

2. How do geese differ from hens in the matter of mating and nesting?
At what time of year do geese mate ? Does a pair usually remain mated
for life ?

3. Describe the nest and compare the eggs with those of hens.
Describe the young goslings in general appearance. With what are they
covered? What care do the y)arents give to their goslings? Describe
how the parents take their family afield. How do they induce their
goslings to go into the water for the first time? How do they protect
them from enemies?

142

Handbook of Nature-Stiuiy

4. How does the gander or goose fight? AVhat are the chief weapons?
How is the head held when the attack is made ?

5. How does the goose clean her feathers, wings and feet ? How does
she oil her feathers? Where does she get the oil and with what does she
apply it ?

6. How much of goose language do you understand? What is the
note of alarm? How is defiance and distrust expressed? How does a
goose look when hissing? What is the constant note of the gosling?

7. Give such instances as you may know illustrating the intelligence
of geese, their loyalty and bravery.

8. Write an English Theme on "The Canada Goose, its appearance,
nesting habits, and migrations."

Supplementary reading — Birds that Hunt and are Hunted, Blanchan;
"In Quest of Waptonk The Wild," Northern Trails, Long; "The Home-
sickn~essofKehonka," Kindred of the Wild, Roberts; Wild Geese, Celia
Thaxter.

€>

A sea-gull
Photo by G. K. Gilbert.

Bird Study

143

THE TURKEY

TeacJier's Story

HAT the turkey and not the eagle should have been
choseiT for our national bird, was the conviction of
Benjamin Franklin. It is a native of our country,
it is beautiful as to plumage, and like the American
Indian, it has never yielded entirely to the in-
fluences of civilization. Through the hundreds of
years of domestication it still retains many of its
wild habits. In fact, it has many qualities in
common with the red man. Take for instance its
sun dance, which any one can witness who is
willing to get up early enough in the morning and who has a flock of
turkeys at hand. Miss Ada Georgia made a pilgrimage K) witness this
dance" and she describes it thus: "While the dawn was still faint and
gray, the long row of birds on the ridge-pole stood up, stretched legs and
wings and flew down into the orchard beside the barnyard and began a
curious, high-stepping, 'flip-flop' dance on the frosty grass. It consisted
of little, awkward, up-and-down jumps, varied by forward springs of
about a foot, with lifted wings. Both hens and males danced, the latter
alternately strutting and hopping and all 'singing,' the hens calling
'Quit, quit,' the males accompanying with a high-keyed rattle, sounding
like a hard wood stick drawn rapidly along a picket fence. As the sun
came up and the sky brightened, the exhibition ended suddenly when
'The Captain,' a great thirty pound gobbler and leader of the flock, made
a rush at one of his younger brethren who had dared to be spreading a tail
too near to his majesty."

144 Handbook of Nature-Study

The bronze breed resembles most closely our native wild turkey and is
therefore chosen for this lesson. The colors and markings of the plumage
form the bronze turkey's chief beauty. From the skin of the neck, reach-
ing half way to the middle of the back is a collar of glittering bronze with
greenish and purple iridescence, each feather tipped with a narrow jet
band. The remainder of the back is black except that each feather is
edged with bronze. The breast is like the collar and at its center is a
tassel of black bristles called the beard which hangs limply downward
when the birds are feeding; but when the gobbler stiffens his muscles to
strut, this beard is thrust proudly forth. Occasionally the hen turkeys
have a beard. The long quills, or primaries, of the wings are barred
across with bands of black and white; the secondaries are very dark,
luminous brown, with narrower bars of white. Each feather of the fan-
shaped tail is banded with black and brown and ends with a black bar
tipped with white; the tail coverts are lighter brown but also have the
black margin edged with white. The colors of the hen are like those of
the gobbler except that the bronze brilliance of breast, neck and wings is
dimmed by the faint line of white which tips each feather.

The heads of all are covered with a warty wrinkled skin, bluish white
on the crown, grayish blue about the eyes, and the other parts red.
Beneath the throat is a hanging fold called the wattle, and above the beak
a fleshy pointed knob called the caruncle, which on the gobbler is pro-
longed so that it hangs over and below the beak. When the bird is angry
these carunculated parts swell and grow more vivid in color, seeming to
be gorged with blood. The color of the skin about the head is more exten-
sive and brilliant in the gobblers than in the hens. The beak is slightly
curved, short, stout, and sharp-pointed, yellowish at the tip and dark at
the base.

The eyes are bright, dark hazel with a thin red line of iris. Just back
of the eye is the ear, seemingly a mere hole, and 3^et it leads to a very
efficient ear, upon which every smallest sound impinges.

The legs of the young turkeys are nearly black, fading to a brownish
gray when mature. The legs and feet are large and stout, the middle
toe of the three front ones being nearly twice the length of the one on
either side; the hind toe is the shortest of the four. On the inner side of
the gobbler's legs, about one-third the bare space above the foot, is a
wicked looking spur which is a most effective weapon. The wings are
large and powerful; the turkey flies well for such a large bird and usually
roosts high, choosing trees or the ridge-pole of the bam for this purpose.

In many ways the turkeys are not more than half domesticated. They
insistently prefer to spend their nights out of doors instead of under a
roof. They are also great wanderers and thrive best when allowed to
forage in the fields and woods for a part of their food.

The gobbler is the most vainglorious bird known to us; when he struts
to show his flock of admiring hens how beautiful he is, he lowers his wings
and spreads the stiff primary quills until their tips scrape the grotmd, lift-
ing meanwhile into a semi-circular fan his beautiful tail feathers; he pro-
trudes his chest, raises the iridescent plumage of his neck like a ruff to
make a background against which he throws back his red, white and blue
decorated head. He moves forward with slow and mincing steps and
calls attention to his grandeur by a series of most aggressive "gobbles."
But we must say for the gobbler that although he is vain he is also a brave

Bird Study 145

fighter. When beginning a fight he advances with wings lowered and
sidewise as if guarding his body with the spread wing. The neck and the
sharp beak are outstretched and he makes the attack so suddenly, that it
is impossible to see whether he strikes with both wing and beak or only
with the latter, as with fury he pounces upon his adversary apparently
striving to rip his neck open with his spurs.

Turkey hens usually begin to lay in April in this latitude and much
earlier in more southern states. At nesting time each turkey hen strays
off alone, seeking the most secluded spot she can find to lay the large, oval,
brown-speckled eggs. Silent and sly, she slips away to the place daily, by
the most round-about ways, and never moving in the direction of the nest
when she thinks herself observed. Sometimes the sight of any person
near her nest will cause her to desert it. The writer has spent many hours
when a child, sneaking in fence comers and behind stumps and tree
trunks, stalking turkeys' nests. Incubation takes four weeks. The
female is a most persistent sitter and care should be taken to see that she
gets a good supply of food and water at this time. Good sound com or
wheat is the best food for her at this period. When sitting she is very
cross and will fight most courageously when molested on her nest.

Turkey nestlings are rather large, with long, bare legs and scra\\Tiy
thin necks, and they are very delicate during the first six weeks of their
lives. Their call is a plaintive "peep, weep," and when a little turkey
feels lost its cry is expressive of great fear and misery. But if the mother
is freely ranging she does not seem to be much affected by the needs of
her brood ; she will fight savagely for them if they are near her, but if they
stray, and they usually do, she does not seem to miss or hunt for them,
but strides serenely on her way, keeping up a constant crooning "kr-rit,
kr-rit," to encourage them to follow. As a consequence, the chicks are
lost or get draggled and chilled by struggling through wet grass and
leaves, that are no obstacle to the mother's strong legs, and thus many
die. If the mother is confined in a coop it should be so large and roomy
that she can move about without trampling on the chicks, and it should
have a dry floor since dampness is fatal to the little ones.

For the first week the chicks should be fed five times a day, and for
the next five weeks they should have three meals a day. They should be
given only just about enough to fill each little crop and none left over to be
trodden under their awkward little feet. Their quarters should be kept
clean and free from vermin.

LESSON XXXIV

Turkeys

Leading thought — The turkey is a native of America. It was intro-
duced into Spain from Mexico in about 1.5 18, and since then has been
domesticated. However, there are still in some parts of the country
flocks of wild turkeys. It is a beautiful bird and has interesting habits.

Method — If the pupils could visit a flock of turkeys the lesson would be
given to a better advantage. If this is impossible, ask the questions a few
at a time and let those pupils who have opportunities for observing the
turkeys give their answers before the class.

Observations — i. Of what breed are the turkeys you are studying,
Bronze, Black, Buff, White Holland or Narragansett?

J 5 Handbook of Nature-Study

2 What is the general shape and size of the turkey ? Describe its
plumage, noting every color which you can see in it? Does the plumage
of the hen turkey differ from that of the .gobbler ? _

c; What is the covering of the head of the turkey, wTiat is its color
and how far does it extend down the neck of the bird? Is it always the
same color, and if not, what causes the change? Is the head covering
ahke in shape and size on the male and the female? What is the part
called that hangs from the front of the throat below the beak? From

above the beak? . ^ • i^

4. What is the color of the beak? Is it short or long, straight or
curved? Where are the nostrils situated?

5. What is the color of the turkey's eyes? Do you think it is a keen-
sighted bird ? , • 1 .

6. Where are the ears? Do they show as plainly as a chicken s ears

do ? Are turkeys quick of hearing ?

7. Do turkeys scratch like hens? Are they good runners ? Describe
the feet and legs as to shape, size and color. Has the male a spur on his
legs, and if so, where is it situated-? For what is it used?

^ 8. Can turkeys fly well ? Are the wings small or comparatively large
and strong for the weight of the body? Do turkeys prefer high or low
places for perching when they sleep ? Is it well to house and confine them
in small buildings and parks as is done with other fowls ?

9. Tell, as nearly as you can discover by close observation, how the
gobbler sets each part of his plumage when he is "showing off" or strut-
ting? What do you think is the bird's purpose in thus exhibiting his fine
feathers? Does the "King of the flock" permit any such action by other
"gobblers" in his company?

10. Are turkeys timid and cowardly or independent and brave, ready
to meet and fight anything which they think is threatening to their com-
fort and safety?

11. When turkeys fight, w^hat parts of their bodies seem to be used
as weapons? Does the male "gobble" during a fight, or only as a chal-
lenge or in triumph when victorious? Do the hen turkeys ever fight, or
only the males?

12. How early in the spring does the turkey hen begin to lay? Does
she nest about the poultry yard and the bams or is she likely to seek some
secret and distant spot where she may hide her eggs? Describe the
turkey's egg, as well as you can, as to color, shape and size. Can one tell
it by the taste from an ordinary hen's egg? About how many eggs does
the turkey hen lay in her nest before she begins to "get broody" and want

to sit ?

13. How many days of incubation are required to hatch the turkey
chick? Is it as downy and pretty as other little chicks? How often
should the young chicks be fed, and what food do you think is best for
them? Are turkey chicks as hardy as other chicks?

14. Is the turkey hen generally a good mother? Is she cross or
gentle when sitting and when brooding her young? Is it possible to keep
the mother turkey as closely confined with her brood as it is with the
mother hen ? What supplies should be given to her in the way of food,
grits, dust-baths, etc.?

Supplementary reading — Birds that Hunt and are Hunted, Blanchan.

Bird Study 147

LESSOM XXXV

The Study of Birds' Nests in Winter

There are very good reasons for not studying birds' nests in summer,
since too much famiHarity on the part of eager children is something the
birds do not understand and are Hkely, in consequence, to abandon both
nest and locaHty. But after the birds have gone to sunnier chmes and
the empty nests are the only mementos we have of them, then we may
study these habitations carefully and learn how to properly appreciate
the small architects which made them. I think that every one of us who
carefully examines the way that a nest is made must have a feeling of
respect for its clever little builder.

I know of certain schools where the children make large collections of
these winter nests, properly labelling each, and thus gaining a new
interest in the bird life of their locality. A nest when collected should be
labelled in the following manner?

Name of the bird w^hich built the nest.

Where the nest was found.

If in a tree, what kind?

How high from the ground?

Bird Homes, by A. R. Dugmore is a book which affords practical
help in determining the species of birds which made the nests.

After a collection of nests has been made let the pupils study them
according to the following outline:

1. Where was the nest found?

a. If on the ground, describe the locality,

b. If on a plant, tree or shrub, tell the species, if possible.

c. If on a tree, tell where it was on a branch, in a fork, or hanging
by the end of the twigs.

d. How high from the ground, and what was the locality?

e. If on or in a building, how situated?

2 . Did the nest have any arrangement to protect it from rain ?

3 . Give the size of the nest, the diameter of the inside and the outside ;
also the depth of the inside.

4. What is the form of the nest? Are its sides flaring or straight?
Is the nest shaped like a cup, basket or pocket?

5. What materials compose the outside of the nest and how are they
arranged ?

6. Of what materials is the lining made, and how are they arranged?
If hair or feathers are used, on what creature did they grow?

7. How are the materials of the nest held together, that is, are they
woven, plastered, or held in place by environment?

8. Had the nest anything peculiar about it either in situation, con-
struction or material that would tend to render it invisible to the casual
glance ?

148

.Handbook of Nature-Stiidy

''Noon time and June Uuic down

around the river.''

FisJi Study

149

II. FISH STUDY

"It remains yet u>iresolved ivhether the happiness of a man in this world doth consist
more in contemplation or action. Concerning which two opinions I shall forebear to
add a third by dcclari)ig my oivn, and rest myself contented in telling yon that both of
these m,eet together, and do most properly belong to the most honest, ingenious , qidet and
harjnless art of angling. And first I tell yon what some have observed, and I have
found to be a real truth, that the very sitting by the riverside is not only the quietest and
the fittest place for contemplation, but ivill invite an angler to it.'' — Isaak Walton.

^EAR, human, old Isaak AValton discovered that nature-
study, fishing, and philosophy were akin and as inevitably
related as the three angles of a triangle. And yet it is
surprising how little the fish have been used as subjects
for nature lessons. Every brook and pond is a treasure
to the teacher who will find what there is in it and who
knows what may be gotten out of it.
Luckily there are some very good books on fishes which will assist
materially in making the fish lessons interesting: Fishes, by David Starr
Jordan, is a magnificent popular work in two volumes; American Food
and Game Fishes, by Jordan and Evermann, is one of the volumes of the
valuable Nature Library. While for supplementary reading the follow-
ing will prove instructive and entertaining: The Story of the Fishes,
Baskett; Fish Stories, by Holder and Jordan; "The Story of a Salmon,"
in Science Sketches, by Jordan; Neighbors with Wings and Fins, Johon-
not; Half Hours with Fishes, Reptiles and Birds, Holder.

Almost any of the fishes found in brook or pond may be kept in an
aquarium for a few days of observation in the schoolroom. A water pail
or bucket does very well if there is no glass aquarium. The water should
be changed every day and at least once a day it should be aerated by
dipping it up and pouring it back from some distance above. The prac-
tice should be established, once for all, of putting these finny prisoners
back into the brook after they have been studied.

THE GOLDFISH

Teacher's Story

NCE upon a time, if stories are true, there lived
a king called Midas, whose touch turned
everything to gold. Whenever I see gold-
fish, I wonder if, perhaps, King Midas
were not a Chinese and if he perchance
did not handle some of the little fish in
Orient streams. But common man has
learned a magic as wonderful as that of King
Midas, although it does not act so im-
mediately, for it is through his agency in
selecting and breeding that we have gained these exquisite fish for our
aquaria. In the streams of China the goldfish, which were the ancestors
of these effulgent creatures, wore safe green col()rs Hke the shiners in
our brooks; and if any goldfish escape from our fountains and run wild,
their progeny return to their native olive-green color. There are many

15°

Handbook of Nature-Study

such dull-colored goldfish in the Delaware and Potomac and other east-
ern rivers. It is almost inconceivable that one of the brilliant colored
fishes, if it chanced to escape into our ponds, should escape the fate of
being eaten by some larger fish attracted by such glittering bait.

The goldfish, as we see it in the aquarium, is brilliant orange above and
pale lemon-yellow below; there are many specimens that are adorned
with black patches. And as if this fish were bound to imitate the precious
metals, there are individuals which are silver instead of gold: they are
oxydized silver above and polished silver below. The goldfish are closely
related to the carp and can live in waters that are stale. However, the
water in the aquarium should be changed at least twice a week to keep it
clear. Goldfish should not be fed too lavishly. An inch square of one of
the sheets of prepared fish food, we have found a fair daily ration for five
medium sized fish ; these fish are more likely to die from overfeeding than
from starving. Goldfish are naturally long-lived; Miss Ada Georgia has
kept them until seven years old in a school aquarium; and there is on
record one goldfish that lived nine years.

Too often the wonderful common things are never noticed because of
their commonness; and there is no better instance of this than the form
and movements of a fish. It is an animal in many ways similar to ani-
mals that live on land; but its form and structure are such that it is
perfectly adapted to live in water all its life; there are none of the true
fishes which five portions of their lives on land as do the frogs. The first
peculiarity of the fish is its shape. Looked at from above, the broader
part of the body is near the front end which is rounded or pointed so as to
cut the water readily. The long, narrow, hind portion of the body with
the tail acts as a propeller. Seen from the side, the body is a smooth,
graceful oval and this form is especially adapted to move through the
water swiftly, as can be demonstrated to the pupil by cutting a model of
the fish from wood and trying to move it through the water sidewise.

Normally, the fish has seven fins, one along the back called the dorsal,
one at the end of the tail called the tail or caudal fin, one beneath the rear
end of the body called the anal, a pair on the lower side of the body called
the ventrals, and a pair just back of the gill openings called the pectorals.
All these fins play their own parts in the movements of the fish. The dor-

'Gili opening
Vfcntrol fin

Goldfish with the parts named.
This figure should be copied on the blackboard for reference.

Fish Study 151

sal fin is usually higher in front than behind and can be lifted or shut down
hke a fan. This fin when it is lifted gives the fish greater height and it
can be twisted to one side or the other and thus be made a factor in
steering. The anal fin on the lower side acts in a similar manner. The
tail fin is the propeller and sends the body forward by pressing backward
on the water, first on one side and then on the other, being used Hke a
scull. The tail fin varies in shape very much in different species. In the
goldfish it is fanlike, with a deeply notched hind edge, but in some it is
rounded or square.

The paired fins correspond anatomically to our arms and legs, the
pectorals representing the arms, the ventrals the legs. Fins are made up
of rays, as the bony rods are called which support the membrane; these
rays are of two kinds, those which are soft, flexible, many jointed and
usually branched at the tip; and those which are bony, not jointed and
which are usually stiff spines. When the spines are present in a fin they
precede the soft rays.

Fishes' eyes have no eyelid but the eyeball is movable, and this often
gives the impression that the fish winks. Fishes are necessarily near-
sighted since the lens of the eye has to be spherical in order to see in the
water. The sense of smell is^located in a little sac to which the nostril
leads; the nostrils are small and often partitioned and may be seen on
either side of the snout. The nostrils have no connection whatever with
breathing, in the fish.

The tongue of the fish is very bony or bristly and immovable. There
is very Httle sense of taste developed in it. The shape, number and
position of the teeth vary according to the food habits of the fish. The
commonest tvpe of teeth are fine, sharp and short and are arranged m
pads, as seen in the bullhead. Some fish have blunt teeth suitable for
crushing shells. Herbivorous fishes have sharp teeth with serrated edges,
while those living upon crabs and snails have incisor-like teeth. In some
specimens we find several types of teeth, in others the teeth may be
entirely absent. The teeth are borne not only on the jaws but also in the
roof of the mouth, on the tongue and in the throat.

The ear of the fish has neither outside form nor opening and is very
imperfect in comparison with that of man. Extending along the sides of
the body from head to tail is a line of modified scales contammg small
tubes connecting with nerves; this is called the lateral line and it is
believed that it is in some way connected with the fish's senses, perhaps
with the sense of hearing.

Since fishes must push through water, which is more difhcult than
moving through air, thev need to have the body well protected. This
protection is, in most fishes, in the form of an armor of scales which are
smooth and allow the bodv to pass through the water with little friction.
These scales overlap like shingles in a roof and are all directed backward.
The study of the fish scale shows that it grows in layers.

In order to understand how the fish breathes we must examine its gills.
In front, just above the entrance to the gullet are several bony ridges
which bear two rows of pinkish fringes; these are the gill arches and the
fringes are the gills. The gills are filled with tiny bloodvessels, and as the
water passes over them, the impurities of the blood pass out through the
thin skin of the gills and the life-giving oxygen passes m. Since hsh
cannot make use of air unless it is dissolved in water, it is very important

1^2 Handbook of Nature- Study

that the water in the aquarium jar should often be replenished. The gill
arches also bear a series of bony processes called gill-rakers. Their
function is to prevent the escape of food through the gills while it is being
swallowed, and they vary in size according to the food habits of the fish.
We note that the fish in the aquarium constantly opens and closes the
mouth; this action draws the water into the throat and forces it out over
the gills and through the gill openings; this then, is the act of breathing.

LESSON XXXVI
A Study of the Fish

Leading tliought — A fish lives in the water where it must breathe, move
and find its food. The water world is quite different from the air world
and the fish have developed forms, senses and habits which fit them for
life in the water.

Method — The goldfish is used as a subject for this lesson because it is
so conveniently kept where the children may see it. However, a shiner
or minnow would do as well.

Before the pupils begin the study, place the diagram shown on p. 150
on the blackboard, with all the parts labelled ; thus the pupils will be able
to learn the parts of the fish by consulting it, and not be compelled to
commit them to memory arbitrarily. It would be well to associate the
goldfish with a geography lesson on China.

Observatiojis — i. Where do fishes live? Do any fishes ever live any
part of their lives on land like the frogs? Could a salt-water fish five in
fresh water, or vice versa?

2. What is the shape of a fish when seen from above? Where is the
widest part? AVhat is its shape seen from the side? Think if you can in
how many ways the shape of the fish is adapted for moving swiftly through
the water.

3. How many fins has the fish? Make a sketch of the goldfish with
all its tins and name them from the diagram on the blackboard.

4. How many fins are there in all? Four of these fins. are in pairs;
where are they situated? What are they called? Which pair corres-
ponds to our arms? Which to our legs?

5. Describe the pectoral fins. How are they used? Are they kept
constantly moving? Do they move together or alternately? How are
they used when the fish swims backwards?

6. How are the ventral fins used? How do they assist the fish
when swimming?

7. Sketch a dorsal fin. How many spines has it? How many soft
rays are there in it ? What is the difference in structure between the stiff
spines in the front of the dorsal fin and the rays in the hind portion? Of
what use to the fish are these two different kinds of fin supports ?

8. Sketch the anal fin. Has it any spines in front? How many
rays has it? How is this fin used when the fish is swimming?

9. With what fin does the fish push itself through the water?
Make a sketch of the tail. Note if it is square, rounded, or notched at the
end. Are the rays of the tail fin spiny or soft in character?

10. Watch the goldfish swim and describe the action of all the fins
while it is in motion. In what position are the fins when the fish is at
rest?

FisJi Study

153

11. What is the nature of the covering of the fish? Are the scales
large or small? In which direction do they seem to overlap? Of what
use to the fish is this scaly covering?

12. Can you see a line which extends from the upper part of the gill
opening, along the side to the tail? This is called the lateral line. Do
you think it is of any use to the fish?

13. Note carefully the eyes of the fish. Describe the i)upil and the
iris. Are the eyes placed so that the fish can see in all directions? Can
they be moved so as to see better in any direction? Does the fish wink?
Has it any eyelids? Do you know why fish are near-sighted?

14. Can you see the nostrils? Is there a little wartlike projection
connected with the nostril? Do you think fishes breathe through their
nostrils?

15. Describe the mouth of the fish. Does it open upward, down-
ward, or directly in front? What sort of teeth have fish? How does the
fish catch its prey? Does the lower or upper jaw move in the process of
eating?

16. Is the mouth kept always in motion? Do you think the fish is
swallowing water all the time ? Do you know why it does this ? Can you
see a wide opening along the sides of the head behind the gill cover?
Does the gill cover move with the movement of the mouth? Plow does a
fish breathe?

■ 17. What are the colors of the goldfish above and below? What
would happen to our beautiful goldfish if they were put in a brook with
other fish? Why could they not hide? Do you know what happens to
the colors of the goldfish when they run wild in our streams and ponds?

18. Can you find in books or cyclopedias where the goldfish came
from? Are they gold and silver in color in the streams where they are
native? Do you think that they had originally the long, slender, swallow
tails which we see sometimes in goldfish? How have the beautiful colors
and graceful forms of the gold and silver fishes been developed ?

'I have my world, and so have you,
A tiny universe for two,
A bubble by the artist blown.
Scarcely more fragile than our own.
Where you have all a whale could wish,
Happy as Eden's primal fish.
Manna is dropt you thrice a day
From some kind heaven not far away,
And still yon snatch its softeni)ig crumbs.
Nor, more than we, tJiink whence it comes.
No toil seems yours but to explore
Your cloistered realm from shore to shore;
Sometimes you trace its limits round,
Sometimes its limpid depths you sound.
Or hover motionless midway.
Like gold-red clouds at set of day;
Erelong yon whirl with sudden tvhim

Off to your globe's most distant rim.
Where, greatencd by the watery lens,
Alethinks no dragon of the fens
Flashed hnger scales against the sky.
Roused by Sir Breis or Sir Guy;
And the one eye that meets my view,
Lidless and strangely largening, too.
Like that of conscience in the dark.
Seems to make me its single mark.
Wliat a benignant lot is yours
That have an oxen All-out-of-doors,
No words to spell, no sums to do.
No Nepos and no parlyvoo!
How happy you, without a thought
Of sucli cross tilings as JSlustand Ought-
I too the happiest of boys
To see and share your golden joys!"

-"The Oracle of the Goldfishes," Lowell.

154

Handbook of Nattire-Stttdy

Bullhead at bottom of a pond.
Photo by Verne Morton.

THE BULLHEAD

Teacher's Story

"The bull-head does usually divell and hide himself in holes or amongst stones- in
clear water; ami in very hot days ivill lie a long time very still and sun himself and will
be easy to be seen on any fiat stone or gravel; at which time he will suffer an angler to
put a hock baited with a small worm very near into his mouth; and he never refuses to
bite, nor indeed, to be caught with the worst of anglers.'

-IsAAK Waltox.

give

HEN one looks a bullhead in the face one is
glad that it is not a real bull for its barbels

it an appearance quite fit for the
making of a nightmare; and yet from
the standpoint of the bullhead, how
truly beautiful those fleshy feelers are !
For without them how could it feel its
way about searching for food in the
mud where it lives? Two of these barbels stand straight up; the
two largest ones stand out on each side of the mouth, and two pairs of
short ones adorn the lower lip, the smallest pair at the middle.

As the fish moves about, it is easy to see that the large barbels at the
side of the mouth are of the greatest use; it keeps them m a constantly
advancing movement, feeling of everything it meets. The upper ones
stand straight up, keeping watch for whatever news there may be from
above- the two lower ones spread apart and follow rather than precede
the fish seeming to test what lies below. The upper and lower pairs seem
to test things as they are, while the large side pair deal with what is going
to be. The broad mouth seems to be formed for taking m all things eatable,
for the bullhead lives on almost anvthing ahve or dead that it discovers as it
noses about in the mud. Nevertheless, it has its notions about its food
for I have repeatedly seen one draw material into its mouth through its
breathing motion and then spew it out with a vehemence one would hardly
expect from such a phlegmatic fish.

Fish Stiidy

155

Although it has feelers which arc very efficient, it also has perfectly
good eyes which it uses to excellent purpose; note how promptly it moves
to the other side of the aquarium when we are tryingtostudy it. Theeyes
are not large; the pupils are black and oval and are rimmed with a narrow
band of shiny pale yellow. The eyes are prominent so that when moved
backward and forward they gain a view of the enemy in the rear or at the
front while the head is motionless. It seems strange to see such a pair of
pale yellow, almost white eyes in such a dark body.

The general shape of the front part of the body is fiat, in fact, it is
decidedly polywogy; this shape is especially fitted for groping about
muddy bottoms. The flat effect of the body is emphasized by the gill
covers opening below rather than at the sides, every pulsation widening
the broad neck. The pectoral fins also open out on the same plane as the
body although they can be turned at an angle if necessary; they are thick
and fleshy and the sharp tips of their spines offer punishment to whom-
soever touches them. The dorsal fin is far forward and not large; it is
usuallv raised at a threatening angle.

There is a httle fleshy dorsal fin near the tail which stands in line with
the body and one wonders what is its special use. The ventral fins are
small. The anal fin is far back and rather strong, and this with the long,
strong tail gives the fish good motor power and it can swim very rapidly
if occasion requires.

The bullhead is mud-colored and has no scales; and since it lives in the
rriud, it does not need scales to protect it; but because of its scaleless con-
dition it is a constant victim of the lampreys, and it would do well,
ndeed, if it could develop an armor of scales against this parasite. The

Bullhead guarding his nest.
After Gill.

I r6 Handbook of Nature-Study

skin is vety thick and leathery so that it is always removed before the fish
is cooked.^ The bullhead is the earliest fish of the spring. This is
probably because it burrows deep into the mud in the fall and remains
there all winter; when the spiring freshets come, it emerges and is hungry
for fresh meat.

The family life of the bullheads and other catfishes seems to be quite
ideal. Dr. Theodore Gill tells us that bullheads make their nests by
removing stones and gravel from a more or less irregularly circular area
in shallow water, and on sandy or gravelly ground. The nest is somewhat
excavated, both parents removing the pebbles by sucking them into the
mouth and carrying them off for some distance. After the eggs are laid,
the male watches over and guards the nest and seems to have great family
responsibiHties. He is the more active of the two in stirring and mixing
the young fry after they are hatched. Smith and Harron describe the
process thus: "With their chins on the bottom, the old fish brush the
comers where the fry were banked, and with the barbels all directed for-
ward, and flexed where they touch the bottom, thoroughly agitate the
mass of fry, bringing the deepest individuals to the surface. This act is
usually repeated several times in quick succession."

"The nests are usually made beneath logs or other protecting objects
and in shallow water. The paternal care is continued for many days
after the birth of the young. At first these may be crowded together in
a dense mass, but as time passes they disperse more and more and spread
around the father. Frequently, especially when the old one is feeding,
some — one or more — of the young are taken into the mouth, but they are
instinctively separated from the food and spit out. At last the young
swarm venture farther from their birthplace, or perhaps they are led
away by their parents."

LESSON XXXVII

The Bullhead, or Horned Pout

Leading thought — The bvillhead lives in mud bottoms of streams and
ponds and is particularly adapted for life in such locations.

Method — A small bullhead may be placed in a small aquarium jar.
At first let the water be clear and add a little pond weed so as to observe
the natural tendency of the fish to hide. Later add mud and gravel to the
aquarium and note the behavior of the fish.

Observations — i. What at the first glance distinguishes the bullhead
from other fish? Describe these strange "whiskers" growing about the
mouth; how many are there and where are they situated? Which are
the longest pair? Can the fish move them in any direction at will?

2. Where do we find bullheads? On what do they feed? Would
their eyes help them to find their food in the mud? How do they find it?

3. Explain, if you can, why the bullhead has barbels, or feelers,
while the trout and bass have none.

4. What is the shape of the bullhead's mouth?

5. What is the general shape of the body? What is its color? Has
it any scales ?

6. Why should the bullhead be so flat horizontally while the sun-
fish is so flat in the opposite direction?

Fish Study iijy

7. Describe the bullhead's eyes. Are they large? What is their
color? Where are they placed?

8. Describe the dorsal fin, giving its comparative size and position.
Do you see another dorsal fin ? Where is this peculiar fin and hov/ does it
differ from the others?

9. Describe the tail fin. Does it seem long and strong? Is the
bullhead a good swimmer?

10. Is the anal fin large or small as compared with that of the gold-
fish?

11. How do the pectoral fins move as compared with those of the
sunfish? Why is the position of the pectoral and dorsal fins of benefit to
this fish ?

12. How does the bullhead inflict wounds when it is handled? Tell
how these spines protect it from its natural enemies.

13. When is the best season for fishing for bullheads? Does the
place where they are found affect the flavor of their flesh? Why?

14. What is the spawning season? Do you know about the nests
the bullheads build and the care they give their young?

15. Write an essay on the nest-making habits of the bullheads and
the care given the young by the parents.

"And what fish will the natural boy naturally take? In America, there is but one
fish which enters fully into the spirit of the occasion. It is a fish of many species
according to the part of the country, and of as many sizes as there are sizes of boys.
This fish is the horned pout, and all tlte rest of the species of Ameinrtis. Horned pout
is its Boston jiame. Bullhead is good enough for New York; and for the rest of tl:e
coiintry, big and little, all the fishes of this tribe are called catfish. A catfish is a jolly
blundering sort of a fish, a regular Falstaff of the ponds. It has a fat jowl, and a fat
belly, which it is always trying to fill. Smooth and sleek, its skin is almost human in its
delicacy. It wears a long mustache, with scattering whiskers of other sort. Mean-
while it ahvays goes armed with a stvord, three sivords, and these it has always on hand,
ahvays ready for a struggle on land as ivell as in tJie ivater. The small boy often gets
badly stuck on these poisoned daggers, but, as the fish knows how to set them by a mus-
cular twist, the small boy learns how, by a like iintwist, he may tinset and leave them
harmless.

The catfish lives in sluggish waters. It loves the millpond best of all, and it lias no
foolish dread of hooks when it goes forth to bite. Its mouth is ivide. It swalloivs the
hook, and very soon it is in the air, its white throat gasping in tJic ttntried element. Soon
it joins its felloivs on the forked stick, and even then, uncomfortable as it may find its
new relations, it never loses sight of the humor of the occasion. Its large head and
expansive forehead betoken a large mind. It is the only fish whose brain contains a
Sylvian fissure, a piling up of tissue consequent on the abundance of gray matter. So
it understands and makes no complaint. After it has dried in the sun for an hour, pour
a little ivater over its gills, and it will wag its tail, and squeak with gratitude. And the
best of all is, there are horned pouts enough to go around."

"The female horned pout lays thotisands of eggs, and when these hatch, she goes
about near the shore with her school of little fishes, like a hen with myriad chicks. She
should be respected and let alone, for on Jier sticcess in rearing this breed of "bullying
little rangers' depends me sport of the small boy of the future."

— David Starr Jordan, in Fish Stories.

158

Handbook of Nature-Study

Fishing for suckers.
Photo by Verne Morton.

THE COMMON SUCKER

Teacher's Story

'E who loves to peer down into the depths of still waters, often
sees upon the sandy, muddy or rocky bottom several
long, wedge-shaped sticks lying at various angles one to
another. But if he thrust down a real stick, behold, these
inert, water-logged sticks move off deftly! And then he
knows that they are suckers. He may drop a hook baited
with a worm in front of the nose of one, and if he waits
long enough before he pulls up he may catch this fish, not by its gills
but by the pit of its stomach; for it not only swallows' the hook com-
pletely but tries to digest it along with the worm. Its food is made up
of soft-bodied insects and other small water creatures; it is also a mud
eater and manages to make a digestive selection from the organic
material of silt. For this latter reason, it is not a desirable food fish
although its flesh varies in flavor with the locality where it is found.
The suckers taken along the rocky shores of Cayuga Lake are fairly
palatable, while those taken in the mud of the Cayuga Inlet are very in-
ferior in flavor and often uneatable.

Seen from above, the sucker is wedge-shaped, being widest at the eyes;
seen from the side it has a flat lower surface and an ungracefully rounded
contour above which tapers only slightly toward the tail. The profile of the
face gives the impression of a Roman nose. The young specimens have
an irregular scale-mosaic pattern of olive-green blotches on a paler ground
color, while the old ones are quite brown above and on the sides. The
suckers differ from most other fishes in having the markings of the back
extend down the sides almost to the belly. This is a help in concealing
the fish, since its sides show from above quite as distinctly as its back

Fish Study 150^

because of its peculiar form. The scales are rather large and are notice-
ably larger behind than in the region of the head. Like other fish it is
white below.

The dorsal fin is placed about midway the length of the fish as measured
from nose to tail. It is not large and appears to have twelve rays, but
there is a short spine in front and a delicate soft ray behind so that it
really has fourteen. The tail is long and strong and deeply notched:
the anal fin extends back to where the tail begins. The ventral fins are
small and are directly opposite the hind half of the dorsal fin. The pec-
torals are not large but are strong and are placed low down. The sucker
has not a lavish equipment of fins but its tail is strong and it can swim
swiftly; it is also a tremendous jumper; it will jump from the aquarium
more successfully than any other fish. When resting on the bottom, it is
supported by its extended pectoral and ventral fins, which are strong
although not large.

The eyes are fairly large but the iris is not shiny; they are placed so
that the fish can easily see above it as well as at the sides; the eyes
move so as to look up or down and are very well adapted to serve a fish
that lives upon the bottom. The nostrils are divided, the partition pro-
jecting until it seems a tubercle on the face. The mouth opens below and
looks like the puckered opening of a bag. The lips are thick but are very
sensitive; it is by projecting these lips, in a way that reminds one of a
very short elephant's trtmk, that it is enabled to reach and find its food
in the mud or gravel; so although the sucker's mouth is not a beautiful
feature, it is doubly useful. The sucker has the habit of remaining
motionless for long periods of time. It breathes very slowly and appears
sluggish; it never seizes its food with any spirit but simply slowly en-
gulfs it; and for this reason it is considered poor game. It is only in the
spring when they may be speared through the ice that there is any fun in
catching suckers ; it is at this season of the year that they move to shallow
water to spawn; those in the lakes move to the rivers, those in the rivers
to the creeks, those in the creeks to the brooks. Even so lowly a creature
as the sucker seems to respond to influences of the springtime, for at that
period the male has a faint rosy stripe along his sides. In the winter these
fish burrow in the mud of the river or pond bottoms; they may be frozen
and thawed without harming them.

There are many species of suckers and they vary in size from six
inches to three feet in length. They inhabit all sorts of waters, but they
do not like a strong current and are, therefore, found in still pools. The
common sucker (Catostomiis conimersoni) , which is the subject of this
esson, sometimes attains the length of twenty-two inches and the weight
of five pounds. The ones under observation were about eight inches
long, and proved to be the acrobats of the aquarium, since they were
likely at any moment to jump out; several times I found one languishing
on the floor.

i6o

Handbook of Nature-Study

LESSON XXXVIII

The Commox Sucker

Leading thought— The sucker is especially adapted by shape for lying
on the bottom of ponds under still water where its food is abundant.

MetJiod — If still water pools along river or lakesides are accessible, it is
far more interesting to study a sucker in its native haunts, as an introduc-
tion to the study of its form and colors when it is in the aquarium.

Observations — i. Where do you find suckers? How do you catch
them? Do they take the hook quickly? What is the natural food of the

su.clcGr ?

2. What is the shape of this fish's body when seen from above?
From the side? What is the color above? On the sides? Below? Does
the sucker differ from most other fishes in the coloring along its sides?
What is the reason for this? What do suckers look like on the bottom
of the pond ? Are they easily seen ?

3. Describe or sketch a sucker, showing the position, size and shape
of the fins and tail. Are its scales large or small? How does it use its
fins when at rest? When moving? Is it a strong swimmer? Is it a high

jumper?

4. Describe the eyes; how are they especially adapted in position
and in movement to the needs of a fish that lives on the bottom of streams
and ponds?

5. Note the nostrils; what is there peculiar about them?

6. Where is the mouth of the sucker situated? What is its form ?
How is it adapted to get the food which the sucker likes best?

7. Tell all you know about the habits of the suckers. When do you
see them first in the spring? Where do they spend the winter? Where
do they go to spawn? How large is the largest one you have ever seen?
Why is their flesh usually considered poor in quality as food ? Is there a
difference in the flavor of its flesh depending upon the locality in which
the fish lives? Why?

^^i^^K

The common sucker.

Fisli Study

i6i

"I'm only wishing to go a fishing."

THE SHINER

Teacher's Story

"This is a noteworthy and characteristic lineament, or cipher, or hieroglyphic, or
type of spring. Y'on look into sonic clear, sandy bottomed brook where it spreads into a
deeper bay, yet floiving cold from ice ajid snow not far off, and see indistinctly poised
over the sand on invisible fins, the oitt lines of the shiner, scarcely to be distinguished
from the sa)ids behind it as if it were transparent." — Thoreau.

HERE are many species of shiners and it is by no means
easy to recognize them nor to distinguish them from
chub, dace and minnows since all these belong to one
family; they all have the same arrangement of fins and
live in the same water; and the plan of this lesson can
with few changes be applied to any of them.

Never were seen more exquisite colors than shim mer
along the sides of the common shiner {Notropis cor-
nutus). It is pale olive-green above, just a sunny brook-color, this is
bordered at the sides by a line of iridescent blue-purple, while the shining
silver scales on the sides below, flash and glimmer with the changing hues
of the rainbow. The minnows are darker than the shiners; the horned
dace develops little tubercles on the head during the breeding season,
which are lost later.

The body of the shiner is ideal for slipping through the water. Seen
from above it is a narrow wedge, rounded in front and tapering to a point
behind; from the side, it is long, oval, lance-shaped. The scales are large

l62

Hajuibook of Nature Sttidy

and beautiful, the lateral line looks like a series of dots embroidered at the
center of the diamond-shaped scales.

The dorsal fin is placed just back of the center of the body and is not
very large; it is composed of soft rays, the first two being stiff and un-
branched. The tail is long, large, graceful and deeply notched. The
anal fin is almost as large as the dorsal. The ventral pair is placed on
the lower side, opposite the dorsal fin ; the pectorals are set at the lower
margin of the body, just behind the gill openings. The shiner and its
relatives use the pectoral fins to aid in swimming, and keep them constantly
in motion when moving through the water. The ventrals are moved only
now and then and evidently help in keeping the balance. When the fish
moves rapidly forward, the dorsal fin is raised so that its front edge stands
at right angles to the body and the ventral and anal fins are expanded to
their fullest extent. But when the fish is lounging, the dorsal, anal and
ventral fins are more or less closed, although the tip of the dorsal fin swings
with every movement of the fish.

The eyes are large, the pupils being very large and black; the iris is
pale yellow and shining; the whole eye is capable of much movement
forward and back. The nostril is divided by a little projecting partition
which looks like a tubercle. The mouth is at the front of the head; to
see the capabilities of this mouth, watch the shiner yawn, if the water of
the aquarium becomes stale. Poor fellow! He yawns just as we do in
the effort to get more oxygen.

The shiners are essentially brook fish although they may be found in
larger bodies of water. They lead a precarious existence, for the larger
fish eat them in all their stages. They only hold their own by laying
countless numbers of eggs. They feed on water insects and get even with
their big fish enemies by eating their eggs. They are pretty and graceful
little creatures and may be seen swimming up the current in the middle of
the brook. They often occur in schools or flocks, especially when young.

iilii

WMwffi

kin:r-i-i'l-'-'-i-fTo:

,yy'

The coniiiwn shiner.

Fish Study 163

LESSON XXXIX
The Shiner

Leading tJiought — The shiners are among the most common of the Httle
fish in our small streams. They are beautiful in form and play an
important part in the life of our streams.

Method — Place in the aquarium shiners and as many as possible of the
other species of small fish found in our creeks and brooks. The aquarium
should stand where the pupil may see it often. The following questions
may be asked, giving the children plenty of time for the work of observa-
tion :

Observations — i. Do you know how the shiner differs in appearance
from the minnow and chub and dace ?

2. What is the shape of the shiner's body when seen from above?
"When seen from the side? Do you think that its shape fits it for moving
rapidly through the water?

3. What is the coloring above? On the sides? Below?

4. Are the scales large and distinct, or very small? Can you see the
lateral line? Where are the tiny holes, which make this line, placed in the
scales ?

5. Describe or sketch the fish, showing position, relative size and
shape of all the fins and the tail.

6. Describe the use and movements of each of the fins when the fish
is swimming.

7. Describe the eyes. Do they move?

8. Describe the nostrils. Do you think each one is double?

9. Does the mouth open upwards, downwards or forwards? Have
you ever seen the shiner yawn ? Why does it yawn ? Why do you yawn ?

10. Where do you find the shiners living? Do they haunt the
middle of the strearn or the edges? Do you ever see them in flocksor
schools ?

MIXXOWS

How silent comes the water round that bend;

Not the minutest whisper does it send

To the o'er hanging sallows; blades of grass

Slowly across Uie cliequer'd shadows pass.

Why, you might read two sonnets, ere they reach

To ivhere the hurrying freshnesses aye preach

A natural sermon o'er their pebbly beds;

Wliere swarms of minnows shoiu their little heads.

Staying their wavy bodies 'gainst the streams,

To taste the luxury of sunny beams

Tempered with coolness. How they ever wrestle

With tlieir own sweet delight, and ever nestle

Their silver bellies on the pebbly sand!

If you but scantily hold out the hand,

That very instant not one will remain:

But turn your eye, and there they are again.

The ripples seem right glad to reach those cresses.

And cool themselves among the em'rald tresses;

Th'7 while they cool themselves, they freshness gjve.

And moisture, that tite bowery green may live.

— JoHW Keats.

164

Handbook of Nature-Study

A speckled trout on a orook bottom.
Photo by Vfrne Morton.

THE BROOK TROUT

Teaclier's Story

"Up and down the brook I ran, ivhcre beneath the banks so steep,
Lie the spotted trout asleep." — Whittier.

UT they were probably not asleep as Mr. Whittier might
have observed if he had cast a fly near one of them.
There is in the very haunts of the trout, a suggestion of
where it gets its vigor and wariness: The cold, clear
streams where the water is pure, brooks that wind in
and out over rocky and pebbly beds, here shaded
by trees and there dashing through the open, — it makes
us feel vigorous even to think of such streams. Under the overhanging
bank or in the shade of some fallen log or shelving rock, the brook trout
hides where he may see all that goes on in the world above and around
him without being himself seen. Woe to the unfortunate insect that falls
upon the surface of the water in his vicinity or even that flies low over the
surface for the trout will jump easily far out of the water to seize its prey !
It is this habit of taking the insect upon and above the water's surface
which has made trout fly-fishing the sport that it is. Man's ingenuity is
fairly matched against the trout's cunning in this contest. I know of one
old trout that has kept fishermen in the region around on the qui vive for
years; and up to date he is still alive, making a dash now and then at a
tempting bait, showing himself enough to tantalize his would-be captors
with his splendid size, but always retiring at the sight of the line.

The brook trout varies much in color, depending upon the soil and the
rocks of the streams in which it lives. Its back is marbled with dark
olive or black, making it just the color of shaded water. This marbled
coloration also marks the dorsal and the tail fins. The sides, which vary
much in color, are marked with beautiful vermilion spots, each placed in
the center of a larger, brownish spot. In some instances the lower surface

Fish Study

i6s

is reddish, in others whitish. All the fin? on the lower side of the body
have the Iront edges creamy or yellowish white, with a darker streak
behind.

The trout's head is quite large and somewhat blunt The large eye is
a little in front of the middle of the head. The dorsal fm is at about the
middle of the body, and when raised is squarish in outline. Behind the
dorsal fin, and near to the tail is the little, fleshy adipose fin, so called
because it has no rays The tail is fan-shaped, slightly notched at the end
and is large and strong. The anal fin is rather large, being shaped much
like the dorsal fin, only slightly smaller. The ventral fins are directly
below the dorsal fin and a little behind its middle. The pectorak are
low down, being below and just behind the gill arches.

Where the trout htde.

In size the brook trout seldom is longer than "^even or eight inches, but
in the rivers of the Northeastern United States specimens weighing from
six to eleven pounds are sometimes taken. It does not flourish in water
which is warmer than 68°, but prefers a temperature of about 50°. It
must have the pure water of mountain streams and cannot endure water
of rivers which is polluted by mills or the refuse of cities. Where it has
access to streams that flow into the ocean, it torms the salt water habit,
going out to sea and remaining there durmg the winter. Such specimens
become very large.

The trout can lay eggs when about six inches in length. The eggs are
laid from. September until late November, although, as Mr. Bream says,
the brook trout are spawned at some locality in almost every month of the
year except mid-summer One mother trout lays from 400 to 600 eggs,
but the large-sized ones Jay more. The period of hatching depends upon
the temperature of the water In depositing their eggs the trout seek
wat&r with gravelly bottom, often where some mountain brook opens into

1 66 Handbook of Nature -Study

a larger stream. The nest is shaped by the tail of the fish, the larger
stones being carried away in the mouth. To make the precious eggs
secure they are covered with gravel.

There have been strict laws enacted by almost all of our states with
a view to protecting the brook trout and preserving it in our streams
The open season in New York is from the 15th of April to the ist of Sep-
tember, and it is illegal to take from a stream a fish that is less than five
inches in length. It is the duty of every decent citizen to abide by these
laws and to see to it that his neighbors observe them. The teacher cannot
emphasize enough upon the child the moral value of being law-abiding.
There should be in every school in the Union children's clubs which should
have for their purpose civic honesty and the enforcement of laws which
affect the city, village or township.

Almost any stream with suitable water may be stocked with trout from
the national or the state hatcheries, but what is the use of this expense if
the game laws are not observed and these fish are caught before they reach
maturity, as is so often the case?

References — American Food and Game Fishes. Jordan & Everman;
Guide to American Fishes, Jordan.

LESSON XL
The Brook Trout

Leading thougJit — The brook trout have been exterminated in our
streams largely because the game laws have not been observed. The
trout is the most cunning and beautiful of our common fishes and the most
valuable for food. If properly guarded, every pure mountain stream in
our country, could be well stocked with the brook trout.

Method — A trout may be kept in an aquarium of flowing water in-
definitely and should be fed upon liver and hard clams chopped. If there
is no aquarium with running water, the trout may be kept in an ordinary
jar long enough for this lesson. The object of this lesson should be not
only the study of the habits of the fish, but also a lesson in its preserva-
tion.

Observations — i. In what streams are the brook trout found?
Must the water be warm or cold? Can tlie trout live in impure water?
Can it live in salt water?

2. Do the trout swim about in schools or do they live solitary?
Where do they like to hide?

3. With what kind of bait is trout caught? Why does it afford
such excellent sport for fly-fishing? Can you tell what the food of the
trout is .''

4. What is the color of the trout above? What colors along its
sides? What markings make the fish so beautiful? What is its color
below ? Has the trout scales ? Do you see the lateral line ?

5. What is the general shape of the brook trout? Describe the
shape, position and color of the dorsal fin. Describe the little fin behind
the dorsal. Why is it unlike the other fins? What is the shape of the
tail fin? Is it rounded, square or crescent-shaped across the end? What
is the position and size of the anal fin compared with the dorsal? What
colors on the ventral fins and where are they placed in relation to the

Fish Study 167

dorsal fin? What color are the pectoral fins and how are they placed in
relation to the gill arches?

6. Describe the trout's eyes. Are they large and alert? Do you
think the trout is keen-sighted?

7. When and where are the eggs laid? Describe how the nest is
made. How are the eggs covered and protected ?

8. Why are there no trout in the streams of your neighborhood?
Could a trout live in these streams? Can you get state aid in stocking the
streams?

9. What are the game laws concerning trout fishing? When is the
open season? How long must the trout be to be taken legally? If you
are a good citizen what do you do about the game laws?

10. Write a story telling all you know about the wariness, cunning
and strength of the brook trout.

Supplementary reading — The following from Fish Stories by Holder
and Jordan: "The Trout of Los Latirelles," "The Golden Trout of the
High Sierras;" "The Lure of the Rainbow." "The Story of the Salmon" in
Science Sketches, " The Master of the Golden Pool" in Watchers of the
Trails, The Story of the Fishes, Baskett, Neighbors with Wings and
Fins, Johonnet.

TROUT

"It is well for anglers not to make trout, of all fishes, the prime objective of a day's
sport, as no more uncertain game loves the sunlight. Today he is yours for the very
asking, tomorrow, the most luscious lure will not tempt him. One hour he defies you,
the next, gazes at you from some ensconcement of the fishes, and knows you not, as yon
pass him, casting, by.

I believe I accumulated some of this angling wisdom years ago, in a certain trout
domain in New England, where there were streams and pools, ripples, cascades and
drooping trees, where everything was fair and promising to the eyes for trout; but it
required superhuman patience to lure them, and many a day I scored a blank Y'ct on
these very days when lures ^vere unavailing, the creel empty save for fern leaves, I found
they were not for naught, that the real fishing day ivas a composite of the weather, the
wind, even if it was from the east, the splendid colors of forest trees, the blue tourinaiine
of the sky that topped the stream amid the trees, the flecks of cloud mirrored on the sur-
face. The delight of anticipation, the casting, the play of the rod, the exercise of skill, the
quick turns in the steam opening up new mstas, tJie little openings in the forest, through
which were seen distant nieadoivs and nodding flowers — all these went to make up the real
trout fishing, the actual catch being but an incident among many delights.

Just how long one could be content with mere scenery in lieu of trout, I am not pre-
pared to say, if pushed to the wall, I confess that when fishing I prefer trout to scenic
effects. Still, it is a very impracticable and delightful sentiment with some truth to it,
the moral being that the angler should be resourceful, and not be entirely cast down on the
days when the wind is in the east

I am aware that this method of angling is not in vogue with some, and would he
deemed fanciful, indeed inane, by many more; yet it is based upon a true and homely
philosophy, not of today, the philosophy of patience and contentment. "How poor are
they that have not patience," said Othello. It is ivell to be content ivith things as we f.nd
them, and it is well to go a-fishing, not to catch fish alone, but roery offering the day lias
to give This should be an easy matter for the angler, as Walton tells us that A ngling is
somewhat like poetry, men are to be born so

— Fish Stories, Jordan and Holder.

16&

Handbook of N ature-Stttdy

Stickleback guarding his nest.
Drawn from nature.

THE STICKLEBACK

Teacher's Story

THIS is certainly the most sagacious of the
Lilliputian vertebrates; scarcely more
than an inch in length when full-grown, it
gazes at you with large, keen, shining-
rimmed eyes, takes your measure and
darts off with a flirt of the tail that says
plainly, "Catch me if you can." The
sticklebacks are delightful aquarium pets
because their natural home is in still
water sufflcientl}^ stagnant for algse to
grow luxuriously; thus we but seldom
need to change the water in the aquari-
um, which, however, should be well
stocked with water plants and have gravel
at the bottom.

When the stickleback is not resting he
is always going somewhere and he
knows just where he is going and what he
is going to do, and earthquakes shall not
deter him. He is the most dynamic
creature in all creation, I think, except perhaps the dragon fly, and
he is so ferocious that if he were as large as a shark he would destroy all
other fishes. Place an earthworm, cut into small sections, in the aquari-
um and while each section is wriggingly considering whether it may be
able to grow both ends into another worm , the stickleback takes hold
with a will and settles the matter in the negative. His ferocity is
frightful to behold as he seizes his prey and shakes it as a terrier does a rat.
Well is this fish named stickleback, for along the ridge of its back are
sharp, strong spines— five of them in our tiny, brook species. These
spines may be laid back flat or they may be erected stiffly, making an
efficient saw which does great damage to fish many times larger than the
stickleback. When we find the minnows in the aquarium losing their
scales we may be sure they are being raked off by this saw-back ; and if
the shiner or sunfish undertakes to make a stickleback meal, there is
only one way to do it, and that is to catch the quarry by the tail, since he is
too alert to be caught in any other way. But swallowing a stickleback
tail first is a dangerous performance, for the sharp spines rip open the
throat or stomach of the captor. Dr. Jordan says that the sticklebacks
of the Puget Sound region are called "salmon killers" and that they well
earn the name; these fierce midgets unhesitatingly attack the salmon,
biting off pieces of their fins and also destroying their spawn.

As seen from the side, the stickleback is slender and graceful, pointed
like an arrow at the front end, and with the body behind the dorsal fin
forming a long and slender pedicel to support the beautifully rounded tail
fin. The dorsal fin is placed well back and is triangular in shape; the
anal fin makes a similar triangle opposite it below and has a sharp spine
at its front edge. The color of the body varies with the light; when
floating among the water weed the back is greenish mottled with paler
green, but when the fish is down on the gravel it is much darker. The
lateral line is marked by a rather broad silver stripe.

Fisli Sliidy 169

If large eyes count for beauty, then the stickleback deserves "the
apple," for its eyes are not only large but gemlike, with a broad iris of
golden brown around the black pupil. I am convinced that the stickle-
back has a keener vision than most fish; it can move its eyes backward
and forward rapidly and alertly. The mouth opens almost upward and
is a wicked little mouth, both in appearance and action.

When swimming, the stickleback darts about rapidly, its dorsal and
anal fins extended, its spines all abristle, its tail lashing the water with
strong strokes and the pectorals flying so fast that they make a blur; the
ventral fins are rarely extended, in fact they are nothing but two little
spines. When the fish wishes to lift itself through the water it seems to
depend entirely upon its pectoral fins and these are also used for balanc-
ing. Its favorite position is hanging motionless among the pond weeds,
with the tail, the dorsal and ventral fins partially closed; it usually rests
upon the pectoral fins which are braced against some stem ; in one case I
saw the ventrals and pectorals used together to clasp a stem and hold the
fish in place. In moving backward the pectorals do the work, with a
little beckoning motion of the tail occasionally. When resting upon the
bottom of the aquarium, it closes its fins and makes itself quite incon-
spicuous. It can dig with much power accomplishing this by a comical
augerlike motion; it plunges head first into the gravel and then by
twisting the body and tail around and around, it soon forms a hiding
place.

But it is as a house builder and father and home protector that the
stickleback shines. In the early spring he builds him a nest made from
the fine green algae called frog-spittle. This would seem a too delicate
material for the house construction, but he is a clever builder. He fastens
his filmy walls to some stems of reed or grass, using as a platform
a supporting stem; the ones which I have especially studied were fastened
to grass stems. The stickleback has a little cement plant of his own, sup-
posed to be situated in the kidneys, which at this time of year secrete the
glue for building purposes. The glue is waterproof. It is spun out in
fine threads or in filmy masses through an opening near the anal fin.
One species weights his platform with sand which he scoops up from the
bottom, but I cannot detect that our brook stickleback does this. In his
case, home is his sphere literally, for he builds a spherical house about the
size of a glass marble, three-c^uarters of an inch in diameter; it is a hollow
sphere and he cements the inside walls so as to hold them back and give
room, and he finishes his pretty structure with a circular door at the side.
When finished, the nest is like a bubble, made of threads of down and yet
it holds together strongly.

In the case of the best known species, the male, as soon as he has
finished his bower to his satisfaction, goes a- wooing; he selects some lady
stickleback, and in his own way tells her of the beautiful nest he has made
and convinces her of his ability to take care of a family. He certainly has
fetching ways for he soon conducts her to his home. She enters the nest
through the little circular door, lays her eggs within it, and then being a
flighty creature, she sheds responsibilities and flits off care free. He
follows her into the nest, scatters the fertilizing milt over the eggs and
then starts off again and rolls his golden eyes on some other lady stickle-
back and invites her also to his home; she comes without any jealousy
because she was not first choice, and she also enters the nest and lays her

170

Handbook of N ature-Stvidy

eggs and then swims off unconcernedly. Again he enters the nest and
drops more milt upon the eggs and then fares forth again, a still energetic
wooer. If there was ever a justified polygamist, he is one, since it is only
the cares and responsibihties of the home that he desires. He only stops
wooing when his nest holds as many eggs as he feels equal to caring for.
He now stands on guard by the door, and with his winnowing pectoral
fins, sets up a current of water over the eggs; he drives off all intruders
with the most vicious attacks, and keeps off many an enemy simply by
a display of reckless fury; thus he stands guard until the eggs hatch and
the tiny little sticklebacks come out of the nest and float off, attaching
themselves by their mouths to the pond weeds until they become strong
enough to scurry around in the water.

Some species arrange two
doors in this spherical nest
so that a current of water
can flow through and over
the eggs. Mr. Eugene Bark-
er, who has made a special
study of the little five-
spined sticklebacks of the
Cayuga Basin, has failed to
find more than one door to
their nests. Mr. Barker
made a most interesting ob-
servation on this stickle-
back's obsession for father-
hood. He placed in the
aquarium two nests, one of
which was guarded by its
loyal builder, which allowed
himself to be caught rather
than desert his post; the
little guardian soon dis-
covered the unprotected nest and began to move the eggs from it to
his own, carrying them carefully in his mouth. This addition made his
own nest so full that the eggs persistently crowded out of the door, and
he spent much of his time nudging them back with his snout. We saw
this stickleback fill his mouth with algas from the bottom of the
aquarium, and holding himself steady a short distance away, apparent-
ly blow the algae at the nest from a distance of half an inch, and we
wondered if this was his method of laying on his building materials
before he cemented them.

The eggs of this species are white and shining like minute pearls, and
seem to be fastened together in small packages with gelatinous m.atter.
The mating habits of this species have not been thoroughly studied ; there-
fore, here is an opportunity for investigation on the part of the boys and
girls.

The five-spined stickleback and his nest.
Photo by Eugene Barker.

FisJi Stiddy 171

LESSON XLI

The Stickleback

Leading thought — The stickleback is the smallest of our common fish.
It lives in stagnant water. The father stickleback builds his pretty nest
of frog-spittle which he watches very carefully.

Method — To find sticklebacks go to a pond of stagnant water which
does not dry up during the year. If it is partly shaded by bushes so much
the better. Take a dip net and dip deeply ; carefully examine all the little
fish in the net by putting them in a Mason jar of water so that you can see
what they are like. The stickleback is easily distinguished by the five
spines along its back. If you collect these fish as early as the first of May
and place several of them in the aquarium with plenty of the algae known
as frog-spittle and other water plants they may perhaps build a nest for
you. They may be fed upon bits of meat or liver chopped very fine or
upon earthworms cut into small sections.

Observations — i. How did the stickleback get its name? How
many spines has it? AVhere are they situated? Are they always carried
erect? How are these spines used as weapons? How do they act as a
means of safety to the stickleback?

2. Describe or make a sketch showing the shape and position of the
dorsal, the anal, the ventral and the pectoral fins. What is the shape of
the tail? What is the general shape of the fish?

3. What is the color of the sticklebacks? Is the color always the
same? What is the color and position of the lateral line?

4. Describe the eyes. Are they large or small? Can they be
moved? Do you think they can see far?

5. Describe the mouth. Does it open upward, straight ahead or
downward ?

6. When the stickleback is swimming what are the positions and
motions of the dorsal, anal, tail and pectoral fins? Can you see the
ventral pair? Are they extended when the fish is swimming?

7. When resting among the pond weed of the aquarium what fins
does the stickleback use for keeping afloat? How are the other fins held?
What fins does it use to move backward? Which ones are used when it
lifts itself from the bottom to the top of the aquarium ? How are its fins
placed when it is at rest on the bottom?

8. Drop a piece of earthworm or some liver or fresh meat cut finely
into the aquarium and describe the action of the sticklebacks as they eat
it. How large is a full-groum stickleback?

9. In what kind of ponds do we find sticklebacks? Do 3^ou know
how the stickleback nest looks? Of what is it built? How is it sup-
ported? Is there one door or two? Does the father or mother stickle-
back build the nest? Are the young in the nest cared for? At what
time is the nest built?

Supplementary reading — Fish-stories, Chap. XXXVI, Jordan and
Holder.

172

Handbook of N aiurc -Study

The sunfish likes quiet waters for nesting.

THE SUNFISH

Teacher's Story

HIS little disc of gay color has won many popular names.
It is called pumpkin seed, tobacco box and sunfish
because of its shape, and it is also called bream and
pond fish I have always wondered that it was not
called chieftain also, for when it raises its dorsal fin
with its saw crest of spines, it looks like the head-dress
of an Indian chief; and surely no warrior ever had a
greater enjoyment in a battle than does this indom-
itable little fish.

The sunfish lives in the eddies of our clear brooks and ponds. It is a
near relative to the rock bass and also of the black bass and it has, accord-
ing to its size, just as gamey qualities as the latter. I once had a sunfish
on my line which made me think I had caught a bass and I do not know
whether I or the mad little pumpkin seed was the most disgusted when I
discovered the truth. I threw him back in the water but his fighting
spirit was up, and he grabbed my hook again within five minutes, which
showed that he had more courage than wisdom ; it would have served him
right if I had fried him in a pan, but I never could make up my mind to
kill a fish for the sake of one mouthful of food.

Perhaps of all its names,, "pumpkin seed" is the most graphic, for it
resembles this seed in the outlines of its body when seen from the side.
Looked at from above, it has the shape of a powerful craft with smooth.

Fish Study

173

rounded nose and gently swelling and tapering sides; it is widest at the
eyes and this is a canny arrangement, for these great eyes turn alertly in
every direction; and thus placed they are able to discern the enemy or
the dinner coming from any quarter.

The dorsal fin is a most militant looking organ. It consists of ten
Spines, the hind one closely joined to the hind dorsal fin, which is sup-
ported by the soft rays. The three front spines rise successively, one
above another and all are imited by the membrane, the upper edge of
which is deeply toothed. The hind dorsal fin is gracefully rounded and
the front and hind fin wo^k independently of each other, the latter often
winnowing the water when the former is laid flat. The tail is strong and
has a notch in the end ; the anal fin has three spines on its front edge and

m^^

, C-a

m?M

?fe^

mrm

The pumpkin seed, the most com-m-on siinfish.

ten soft rays. Each ventral fin also has a spine at the front edge and is
placed below and slightly behind the pectorals. The pectoral fins, I have
often thought, were the most exquisite and gauzelike in texture of any
fins I have ever seen; they are kept almost constantly in motion and
move in such graceful flowing undulations that it is a joy to look at them.
The eye of the sunfish is very large and quite prominent; the large
black pupil is surrounded by an iris that has shining lavender and bronze
in it, but is more or less clouded above; the young ones have a pale silver
iris. The eyes move in every direction and are eager and alert in their
expression. The mouth is at the front of the body but it opens upward.
The gill opening is prolonged backward at the upper comer, making an
earlike flap; this, of course, has nothing to do with the fish's ears, but it is
highly ornamental as it is greenish-black in color, bordered by iridescent,
pale green, with a brilliant orange spot on its hind edge. The colors of
the sunfish are too varied for description and too beautiful to reduce to
mere words. There are dark, dull, greenish or purplish cross-bands
worked out in patterns of scale-mosaic, and between them are bands of
pale iridescent-green, set with black-edged orange spots. But just as we

Hajidbook of Nature-Study

have described his colors our sunfish darts off arxd aJl sortr. of shimmering,
shining blue, green and purple tmts play over his body and he settles down
into another comer of the aquarium and his colors seem much paler and
we have to describe him over again. The body below is brassy-yellow.

The beautiful colors which the male '^unfish dons m spnng, he puts at
once to practical use. Professor Reighard says ihat when courting and
crying to persuade his chosen one to come to his nest and there deposit
her eggs, he faces her, with his gill covers puffed out, the scarlet or orange
spot on the ear- flap standing out bravely, and his black ventral fins spread
v/ide to show off Lheir patent-leather finish. Thus, does he display him-
self before her and persuade her, but he is rarely allowed to do this in
peace. Other males as brilliant as he arrive on the scene and he must
forsooth stop parading before his lady love in order to fight his rival, and

Male of the sunfish guarding his nat.
After GUI

he fights with as murh display of color as ho courts. But in the sunfish
duel the participants do not seek to destroy each other but to mutilate
spitefully each other's fins. The vanquished one with his fins all torn retires
from the field. Professor Gill says . "Meanwhile the male has selected a
spot in very shallow water near the shore, and generally in a mass of
aquatic vegetation not too large or close together to entirely exclude the
light and heat of the sun. and mostly under an over-hanging plant. The
choice 15 apt to be in some general strip of shallow water close by the shore
which is favored by many others so that a number of similar nests may
be found close together, although never encroaching on each other.
Each fish slightly excavates and makes a saucer-like basin in the chosen
area which is carefully cleared of all pebbles. Such are removed by
violent jerks of the caudal fin or are taken up by the mouth and carried to
the circular boundary of the nest. An area of fine, clean sand or gravel is
generally the result, but not infrequently, according to Dr. Reighard, the

Fish Study 175

nest bottom is composed of the rootlets of water plants. The nest has
a diameter of about twice the length of the fish."

On the nest thus fonncd, the sunfish belle is invited to deposit her
eggs, which as soon as laid fall to the bottom and become attached
to the gravel at the bottom of the nest by the viscid substance
which surrounds them. Her duty is then done and she departs,
leaving the master in charge of his home and the eggs. If truth be told,
he is not a strict monogamist. Professor Reighard noticed one of these
males which reared in one nest two broods laid at quite different
times by two females. For about a week, depending ujjon the tem-
perature, the male is absorbed in his care of the eggs and defends his nest
with much ferocity, but after the eggs have hatched he considers his duty
done and lets his progeny take care of themselves as best they may.

Sunfish are easily taken care of in an aquarium, but each should be
kept by himself as they are likely to attack any smaller fish and are most
uncomfortable neighbors. I have kept one of these beautiful, shimmer-
ing pumpkin seeds for nearly a year, by feeding him every alternate day
with an earthwonn; these unfortunate creatures are kept stored in damp
soil in an iron kettle during the winter. When I threw one of them into
the aquarium he would seize it and shake it as a terrier shakes a rat ; but
this was perhaps to make sure of his hold. Once he attempted to take the
second worm directly after the first; but it was a doubtful proceeding,
and the worm reappeared as often as a prima donna, waving each time a
frenzied farewell to the world.

LESSON XLI
The Sunfish

Leading thought — The pumpkin seeds are very gamey little fishes
which seize the hook with much fierceness. They live in the still waters
of our streams or in ponas and build nests in the spring, in which the eggs
are laid and which they defend valiantly.

Method — The common pumpkin seed in the jar aquarium is all that is
necessary for this lesson. However, it will add much to the interest of
the lesson if the boys who have fished for pumpkin seeds will tell of their
experiences. The children should be stimulated by this lesson to a keen
interest in the nesting habits of the sunfishes.

Observations — i. Where are the sunfish found? How do they act
when they take the hook ?

2. What is the general shape of the sunfish's body as seen from
above? As seen from the side? Why is it called pumpkin seed?

3. Describe the dorsal fin. How many spines has it? How many
soft rays? What is the difierence in appearance between the front and
hind dorsal fin? Do the two act together or separately? Describe the
tail fin. Describe the anal fin. Has it any spines ? If so, where are they ?
Where are the ventral fins in relation to the pectorals? What is there
peculiar about the appearance and movements of the pectoral fins?

4. Describe the eye of the sunfish. Is it large or small? Is it
placed so that the fish can see on each side? Does the eye move in all
directions?

5. Describe the position of the mouth. In which direction does it
open?

176 Handbook of Nature-Study

6. What is the color of the upper portion of the gill opening or
operculum? What is the general color of the sunfish? Above? Below?
Along the sides? What markings do you see?

7. Where does the sunfish make its nest? Does the father or
mother sunfish make the nest? Do one or both protect it? Describe the
nest.

8. How many names do you know for the sunfish? Describe the
actions of your sunfish in the aquarium. How does he act when eating
an earthworm?

Supplementary reading — Chapters XXX, XXXVI, in Fish Stories,
Jordan and Holder.

"The lamprey is not a fish at all, only a wicked imitation of one which can deceive
nobody. But there are fishes which are unquestionably fish — fish from gills to tail, from
head to fin, and of these the little sunfish may stand first. He comes up the brook in the
spring, fresh as "coin just from the mint," finny arms and legs wide spread, his gills
moving, his mouth opening and shutting rhythmically, liis tail wide spread, and ready
for any sudden -inotion for which his erratic little brain may give the order. The scales
of the sunfish shine with all sorts of scarlet, blue, green and pur pie and golden colors.
There is a black spot on his head which looks like an ear, and sometimes grows out in a
long black flap, which makes the imitation still closer. There are many species of the
sunfish, and there may be Jialf a dozen of them in the same brook, but that makes no
difference; for our purposes they are all one.

They lie poised in the water, with all fins spread, strutting like turkey-cocks, snap-
ping at worms and little crustaceans and insects whose only business in the brook is that
the fishes may eat them. When the time comes, the sunfish makes its nest in the fine
gravel, building it with some care — for a fish. When the female has laid her eggs the
male stands guard until the eggs are hatched. His sharp teeth and snappish ways, and
^he bigness of his appearance when the fins are all displayed, keep the little fishes away.
Sometimes, in his zeal, he snaps at a hook baited with a worm. He then makes a fierce
fight, and the boy who holds the rod is sure that he has a real fish this time. But when
the sunfish is out of the water, strung on a willow rod, and dried in the sun, the boy sees
that a very little fish can make a good deal of a fuss."

— David Starr Jordan.

FisJi Study

1 1

1 ne johnny darter likes a swift-flowing brook.

THE JOHNNY DARTER
Teacher's Story

'^We never tired of watching the little Johnny, or Tessellated darter {Boleosonia
nigrum) , although our earliest aquarium friend, [and the very first specimens showed us
by a rapid ascent of tlie river weed hew 'a Johnny could climb trees,') he has still many
resources which we have never learned. Whenever,' we try to catch him ivith the hand
we begin with all the uncertainty that characterized our first attempts, even if we have
him in a tivo-qtiart pail. We may know him by his short fins, his first dorsal having
but nine spines, and by the absence of all color save a soft, yellowish brown, which is
freckled with darker markings. The dark brown on the sides is arranged in seven or
eight W-shaped marks, below which are a few flecks of the same color. Covering the
sides of the back are the wavy markings and dark specks which have given the name of
the "Tessellated Darter;" but Boleosoma is a preferred name, and zve even prefer 'boly'
for short. In the spring the mules have the head jet black; and this dark color often
extends on the back part of the body, so that the fish looks as if he had been taken by the
tail and dipped into a bottle of ink. But nith the end of the nuptial season this color
disappears and tJie fish regains his normal, strawy hue.

His actions are rather bird-like; for he xvill strike attitudes like a tufted titmouse
and he flies rather than swims throtigh the water. He will, with much perseverance,
push his body between a plant and the sides of the aquarium and balance himself on a
slender stem. Crouchijig catlike before a snail shell, he will snap off a horn which the
unlucky owner pushes timtdly out. But he is also less dainty and seizing the anitnal
by the head, he dashes the shell against the glass or stones uiUil he pulls the body out or
breaks the shell." — David Starr Jordan.

The johnny darters are, with the sticklebacks, the most amusing little
fish in the aquarium. They are well called darters since their movements
are so rapid when they are frightened that the eye can scarcely follow
them; and there is something so irresistibly comical in their bright, saucy

178

Handbook of Nature-Study

eyes, placed almost on top of the head, that no one could help calling one
of them "Johnny." A "johnny" will look at you from one side, and then
as quick as a flash, will flounce around and study you with the other eye
and then come toward you head-on so that he may take you in with both
eyes; he seems just as interested in the Johnny out of the jar as is the
latter, in the johnny within.

The johnny darter has a queer shaped body for a fish, for the head
and shoulders are the larger part of him; not that he suddenly disappears
into nothingness, by no means! His body is long and very slightly
tapering to the tail; along his lateral line he has a row of olive-brown W's
worked out in scale-mosaics; and he has some other scale-mosaics also
following a pattern of angular lines and making blotches along his back.
The whole upper part of his body is pale olive, which is a good imitation
of the color of the brook.

The astonished and anxious look on the johnny darter's face comes
from the peculiar position of the eyes which are set in the top of his fore-
head; they are big, alert eyes, with large black pupils, surrounded by a
shining, pale yellow line at the inner edge of the green iris; and as the
pupil is not set in the center of the eye, the iris above being wider than
below, the result is an astonished look, as from raised eyebrows. The
eyes move, often so swiftly that it gives the impression of winking. The
eyes, the short snout, and the wide mouth give johnny a decidedly frog-
rT'- like aspect.

"^^^^m

frog.

is no
darter
a fair
some-

Although he
yet johnny
seems to be in
way to develop
thing to walk upon. His
pectoral fins are large
and strong and the ven-
tral pair are situated
The johnny darter. ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ . ^^^^

he rests upon the gravel he supports himself upon one or both of these
pairs of fins. He rests with the pectoral fins outspread, the sharp points
of the rays taking hold of the gravel like toenails and thus give him the
appearance of walking on his fins; if you poke him gently, you will find
that he is very firmly planted on his fins so that you can turn him around
as if he were on a pivot. He also uses the pectorals for swimming and
jerks himself along with them in a way that makes one wonder if he could
not swim well without any tail at all. The tail is large and almost straight
across the end and is a most vigorous pusher. There are two dorsal fins;
the front one has only nine rays; these are not branched and are therefore
spines; when the fin is raised it appears almost semi-circular in shape.
The hind dorsal fin is much longer and when lifted stands higher than
the front one; its rays are all branched except the front one. As
soon as the johnny stops swimming he shuts the front dorsal fin so that
it can scarcely be detected; when frightened he shuts both the dorsal fins
and closes the tail and the anal fin and spreads out his paired fins so that
his body lies flat on the bottom; this act always reminds one of the
"freezing" habit of the rabbit. But johnny does not stay scared very
long; he lifts his head up inquisitively, stretching up as far as he is able
on his front feet, that is, his pectorals, in such a comical way that one
can hardly realize he is a fish.

Fish Sttidy 179

The tail and the dorsal fin of the johnny darter are marked with silver
dots which give them an exquisite spun-glass look ; they are as transparent
as gauze.

The johnny darters live in clear, swift streams where they rest on the
bottom, with the head up stream. Dr. Jordan has said they can climb
up water weed with their paired fins. I have never observed them doing
this but I have often seen one walk around the aquarium on his fins as if
they were little fan-shaped feet ; and when swimming he uses his fins as a
bird uses its wings. There are many species of darters, some of them the
most brilliantly colored of any of our fresh-water fishes. The darters are
perch-like in form.

Dr. Jordan says of the breeding habits of the darters: "On the bot-
tom, among the stones, the female casts her spawn. Neither she nor the
male pays any further attention to it, but in the breeding season the male
is painted in colors as beautiful as those of the wood warblers. When you
go to the brook in the spring you will find him there, and if you catch him
and tarn him over on his side you will see the colors that he shows to his
mate, and which observation shows are most useful in frightening away
his younger rivals. But do not hurt him. Put him back in the brook
and let him paint its bottom with colors of a rainbow, a sunset or a gar-
den of roses All that can be done with blue, crimson and green pig-
ments, in fish ornamentation, you will find in some brook in which the
darters live."

LESSON XLIII
Johnny Darter

Leading thought — The johnny darter naturally rests upon the bottom
of the stream where the current is swift. It uses its two pairs of paired
fins somewhat as feet in a way interesting to observe.

Method — Johnny darters may be caught in nets with other small fry
and placed in the aquarium. Place one or two of them in individual
aquaria where the pupils may observe them at their leisure. They do
best in running water.

Observations — i. Describe or sketch the johnny darter from above.
From the side. Can you see the W-shaped marks along its side? How is
it colored above?

2. How are the pectoral fins placed? Are they large or small?
How are they used in swimming? Where are the ventral fins placed?
How are the ventrals and dorsals used together? When resting on the
bottom how are the pectoral fins used?

3. What is there peculiar about the dorsal fins of the johnny
darter? When he is resting, what is the attitude of the dorsal fins?
What is the difference in shape of the rays of the front and hind dorsal
fins?

4. When resting on the bottom of the aquarium how is the body
held? On what does it rest*? In moving about the bottom slowly why
does it seem to walk? How does it cHmb up water weed?

5. When frightened how does it act? Why is it called a darter?
What is the attitude of all the fins when the fish is moving swiftly?

6. What is the shape of the tail?

i8o Handbook of N ature-Study

7. What is there peculiar about the eyes of the johnny? Describe
the eyes and their position. What reason is there in the hfe of the fish
that makes this position of the eyes advantageous?

8. Where do we find the johnny darters? In what part of the
stream do they hve? Are they usuaUy near the surface of the water or at
the bottom?

"To iny mind, the best of all subjects for nature-study is a brook. It affords studies
of many kinds. It is near and dear to every child. It is an epitome of the nature in
which we live. In miniature, it illustrates the forces which have shaped tnuch of the
earth's surface. It reflects the sky. It is kissed by the sun. It is rippled by the wind.
The minnoivs play in the pools. The soft ivecds groiv in the shallows. The grass and
the datidelions lie on its sunny banks. The moss and the fern are sheltered in the nooks.
It conies from one knows not ivhence; it flows to one knows not whither. It aivakens
the desire to explore. It is fraught ivith mysteries. It typifies the flood of life. It
goes on forever.

In other words, the rcaso)i why the brook is such a perfect nature-study subject is the
fact that it is the central theme in a scene of life. Living things appeal to children."

"Nature-study not only educates, but it educates nature-ward ; and nature is ever our
cotnpanion. whether ive will or no. Even though we are determined to shut ourselves in
an office, nature sends her messengers. The light, the dark, the moon, the cloud, the
rain, the wind, the falling leaf, the fly, the bouquet, the bird, the cockroach — they arc all
ours.

If one is to be happy, he must be in sympathy with common things. He must live in
harmony with his environment. One cannot be happy yonder nor tomorrow : he is
happy iiere and now, or never. Our stock of knowledge of common things should be
great. Few of us can travel. We must know the tilings at home.

Nature-love tends toward naturalness, and toward simplicity of living. It ttiids
country-ward. 0)u^ word from the fields is worth two from the city. "God made the
country. ' '

I expect, therefore, that much good will come from nature-study. It ought to
revolutionize the school life, for it is capable of putting new force and enthusiasm into
the school and the child. It is new, a)id therefore, is called a fad. A movement is a fad
until it succeeds. We shall learn much, and shall outgroiv some of our present notions,
but nature-study has come to stay. It is in much the same stage of development that
manual-training and kindergarten work were twenty-five years ago. We must take care
that it does not crystalize into science-teaching on the one hand, nor fall into mere
sentimentalism on tJw other.

I ivould again emphasize the importance of obtaining our fact before ive let loose the
imagination, for on this point will largely turn the results — the failure or the success of
the experiment. We must not allow our fancy to run away with tts. If we hitch our
wagon to a star, we must ride with mind and soul and body all alert. When we ride in
such a wagon, we must not forget to put in the tail-board."

— L. H. Bailey in The Nature-Study Idea.

Batrachian Study i8i

III. BATRACHIAN STUDY

THE COMMON TOAD

TeacJier's Story
"The toad hopped by us with jolting springs." — Akers.

HOEVER has not had a pet toad has missed a most
entertaining experience. Toad actions are surpris-
ingly interesting; one of my safeguards against the
blues is the memory of the thoughtful way one of my
pet toads rubbed and patted its stomach with its little
hands after it had swallowed a June-bug. Toads do
not make warts upon attacking hands, neither do they
rain down nor are they found in the bed-rock of
quarries; but they do have a most interesting history of their own,
which is not at all legendary, and which is very like a life with two in-
carnations.

The mother toad lays her eggs in May and June in ponds, or in the siill
pools, along streams; the eggs are laid in long strings of jellylike sub-
stance, and are dropped upon the pond bottom or attached to water
weeds; when first deposited, the jelly is transparent and the little black
eggs can be plainly seen ; but after a day or two, bits of dirt accumulate
upon the jelly, obscuring the eggs. x\t first the eggs are spherical, like
tiny black pills, but as they begin to develop, they elongate and finally
the tadpoles may be seen wriggling in the jelly mass, which affords them
efficient protection. After four or five da3's, the tadpoles usually
work their way out and swim away; at this stage, the only way to detect
the head, is by the direction of the tadpole's progress, since it naturally
goes head first. However, the head soon becomes decidedly larger,
although at first it is not provided with a mouth; it has instead, a
V-shaped elevation where the mouth should be, which forms a sucker
secreting a sticky substance by means of which the tadpole attaches
itself to water weeds, resting head up. When two or three days old, we
can detect little tassels on either side of the throat, which are the gills
by which the little creature breathes; the blood passes through these
gills, and is purified by coming in contact with the air which is mixed in
the water. About ten days later, these gills disappear beneath a mem-
brane which grows down over them ; but they are still used for breathing,
simply having changed position from the outside to the inside of the
throat. The water enters the nostrils to the mouth, passes through an
opening in the throat and flows over the gills and out through a little
opening at the left side of the body; this opening or breathing-pore, can
be easily seen in the larger tadpoles; and when the left arm develops, it is
pushed out through this convenient orifice.

When about ten days old, the tadpole has developed a small, round
mouth which is constantly in search of something to eat, and at the same
time constantly opening and shutting to take in air for the gills; the
mouth is provided with horny jaws for biting off pieces of plants. As the

l82

Handbook of Nature-Study

tadpole develops, its mouth gets larger and wider and extends back
beneath the eyes, with a truly toadlike expansiveness.

At first, the tadpole's eyes are even with the surface of the head and
can scarcely be seen, but later they become more prominent and bulge
like the eyes of the adult toad.

The tail of the tadpole is long and flat, surrounded by a fin, thus
making an organ for swimming. It strikes the water, first this side and
then that, making most graceful curves, which seem to originate near the

Toad's eggs.
Photo by Verne Morton.

body and multiply toward the tip of the tail. This movement propels
the tadpole forward, or in any direction. The tail is very thin when seen
from above; and it is amusing to look at a tadpole from above, and then
at the side; it is like squaring a circle.

There is a superstition that tadpoles eat their tails; and in a sense this
is true, because the material that is in the tail is absorbed into the growing
body; but the last thing a right-minded tadpole would do, would be to
bite off its own tail. However, if some other tadpole should bite off the
tail or a growing leg, these organs conveniently grow anew.

When the tadpole is a month or two old, depending upon the species,
its hind legs begin to show; they first appear as mere buds which finally
push out completely. The feet are long and provided with five toes, of
which the fourth is the longest; the toes are webbed so that they may be
used to help in swimming. Two weeks later the anns begin to appear,
the left one pushing out through the breathing-pore. The "hands" have
four fingers and are not webbed ; they are used in the water for balancing ;
while the hind legs are used for pushing, as the tail becomes smaller.

Batrachian Study

183

As the tadpole grows older, not only does its tail become shorter but
its actions change. It now comes often to the surface of the water in
order to get more air for its gills, although it lacks the frog tadpole's
nice adjustment of the growing lungs and the disappearing gills. At
last some fine rainy day, the little creature feels that it is finally fitted
to live the life of a land animal. It may not be a half inch in
length, with big head, attenuated body and stumpy tail, but it swims to
the shore, lifts itself on its front legs, which are scarcely larger than pins,
and walks off, toeing in, with a very grown up air, and at this moment, the
tadpole attains toadship. Numbers of them come out of the water
together, hopping hither and thither with all of the eagerness and vim of
untried youth. It is when issuing thus in hordes from the water and seen
by the ignorant, that they gain the reputation of being rained down, when
they really were rained up. It is quite impossible for a beginner to detect
the difference between the toad and the frog tadpole; usually those of the
toads are black, while those of the frogs are otherwise colored, though this
is not an invariable distinction. The best way to distinguish the two is
to get the eggs and develop the two families separately.

The general color of the common American toad is extremely variable.
It may be yellowish-brown, with spots of lighter color, and with reddish or
yellow warts. There are likely to be four irregular spots of dark color
along each side of the middle of the back, and the under parts are light
colored, often somewhat spotted. The throat of the male toad is black
and he is not so bright m color as is the female. The warts upon the back
are glands, which secrete a substance disagreeable for the animal seeking
toad dinners. This is especially true of the glands in the elongated
swelling or wart, above and just back of the ear, which is Ca-lled the
parotid gland; these give forth a milky, poisonous substance when the
toad is seized b}^ an enemy, although the snakes do not seem to mind it.
Some people have an idea that the toad is slimy, but this is not true; the
skin is perfectly dry. The toad feels cold to the hand because it is a cold-
blooded animal, which means an animal with blood the temperature of
the stirrounding atmosphere; while the blood of the warm-blooded
animal, has a temperature of its own, which it maintains whether the
surrounding air is cold or hot.

The toad's face is well worth
study; its eyes are elevated
and very pretty, the pupil being
oval and the surrounding iris
shining like gold. The toad
winks in a wholesale fashion, the
eyes being pulled down into the
head; the eyes are provided with
nictitating lids, which rise from
below, and are similar to those
found in birds. When a toad is
sleeping, its eyes do not bulge
but are drawn in, so as to lie even
with the surface of the head.
The two tiny nostrils are black
and are easily seen ; the ear is a
flat, oval spot behind the eye

After a hard winter.

Photo by Cyrus Crosby.

jg^ Handbook of Nature-Study

and a little lower down; in the common species it is not quite so large
as the eye; this is really the ear-drum, since there is no external ear like
ours. The toad's mouth is wide and its jaws are homy; it does not need
teeth since it swallows its prey whole.

The toad is a jumper, as may be seen from its long, strong hind legs,
the feet of which are also long and strong and armed with five toes
that are somewhat webbed. The "arms" are shorter and there are
four "fingers" to each "hand;" when the toad is resting, its front
feet toe-in, in a comical fashion. If a toad is removed from an
earth or moss garden, and put into a w^hite wash-bowl, in a few hours it
will change to a lighter hue, and vice versa. This is part of its pro-
tective color, making it inconspicuous to the eyes of its enemy. It
prefers to live in cool, damp places, beneath sidewalks or piazzas, etc.,
and its warty upper surface resembles the surrounding earth. If it is
disturbed, it will seek to escape by long leaps and acts frightened; but
if very much frightened, it flattens out on the ground, and looks so
nearly like a clod of earth that it may escape even the keen eyes of its
pursuer. AVhen seized by the enemy, it will sometimes "play possum,"
acting as if it were dead ; but when actually in the mouth of the foe, it
emits terrified and heart-rending cries.

The toad's tongue is attached to the lower jaw, at the front edge of the
mouth ; it can thus be thrust far out, and since it secretes a sticky sub-
stance over its surface, any insects which it touches adhere, and are drawn
back into the mouth and swallowed. It takes a quick eye to see this
tongue fly out and make its catch. The tadpole feeds mostly upon
vegetable matter, but the toad lives entirely upon small animals, usually
insects; it is not particular as to what kind of insects; but because of the
situations which it haunts, it usually feeds upon those which are injurious
to grass and plants. Indeed, the toad is really the friend of the gardener
and farmer, and has been most ungratefully treated by those whom it
has befriended. If you doubt that a toad is an animal of judgment,
watch it when it finds an earthworm and set your doubts at rest ! It will
walk around the squirming worm, until it can seize it by the head,
apparently knowing well that the homy hooks extending backward from
the segments of the worm, are likely to rasp the throat if swallowed the
wrong way. If the worm prove a too large mouthful, the toad promptly
uses its hands in an amusing fashion to stuff the wriggling morsel down
its throat. When swallowing a large mouthful, it closes its eyes; but
whether this aids the process, or is merely an expression of bliss, we have
not determined. The toad never drinks by taking in water through the
mouth, but absorbs it through the skin; when it wishes to drink, it
stretches itself out in shallow water and thus satisfies its thirst; it will
waste away and die in a short time, if kept in a dry atmosphere.

The toad burrows in the earth by a method of its own, hard to describe.
It kicks backward with its strong hind legs, and in some mysterious way,
the earth soon covers all excepting its head; then, if an enemy comes
along, back goes the head, the earth caves in around it, and where is your
toad! It remains in its burrow or hiding place usually during the day,
and comes out at night to feed. This habit is an advantage, because
snakes are then safely at home and, too, there are many more insects to
be found at night. The sagacious toads have discovered that the
vicinity of street lights is swarming with insects, and there they gather in

Batrachian Stitdv

i8s

numbers. In winter they burrow deeply in the ground and go to sleep,
remaining dormant until the warmth of spring awakens them; then, they
come out, and the mother toads seek their native ponds there to lay eggs
for the coming generation. They are excellent swimmers; when swim-
ming rapidly, the front legs are laid backward along the sides of the body,
so as to offer no resistance to the water; but when moving slowly, the
front legs are used for balancing and for keeping afloat.

The song of the toad is a pleasant, crooning sound, a sort of gutteral
trill ; it is made when the throat is puffed out almost globular, thus form-
ing a vocal sac; the sound is made by the air drawn in at the nostrils and
passed back and forth from the lungs to the mouth over the vocal chords,
the puffed-out throat acting as a resonator.

The toad has no ribs by which to inflate the chest, and thus draw air
into the lungs, as we do when we breathe ; it is obliged to swallow the air
instead and thus force it into the lungs. This movement is shown in the
constant pulsation, in and out, of the membrane of the throat.

As the toad grows, it sheds its horny skin, which it swallows; as this
process is usually done strictly in private, the ordinary observer sees it
but seldom. One of the toad's nice common qualities is its enjoyment in
having its back scratched gently.

The toad has many enemies; chief among these is the snake and in
only a lesser degree, crows and also birds of prey.

Reference — The Frog Book, Dickerson; Familiar
Forest, Mathews; The Usefulness of the American
Agr., Farmers Bulletin, No. 196.

LESSON XLIV

Life in Field and
Toad, U. S. Dept.

The Tadpole Aquarium

Leading thought — The children
should understand how to make
the tadpoles comfortable and
thus be able to rear them.

Materials — A tin or agate pan
or a deep earthenware wash-
bowl.

Things to be done — i. Go to
some pond where tadpoles live.

2. Take some of the small
stones on the bottom and at the
sides of the pond lifting them
very gently so as not to disturb
what is growing on their surface.
Place these stones on the bottom
of the pan, building up one side
higher than the other, so that
the water will be more shallow
on one side than on the other;
a stone or two should project
above the water.

3. Take some of the mud and leaves from the bottom of
being careful not to disturb them and place upon the stones.

the pond,

1 86 Handbook of Nature-Study

4. Take some of the plants found growing under water in the pond
and plant them among the stones.

5. Carry the pan thus prepared back to the schoolhouse and place it
where the sun will not shine directly upon it.

6. Bring a pail of water from the pond and pour it very gently in at
one side of the pan, so as not to disarrange the plants; fill the pan nearly
to the brim.

7. After the mud has settled and the water is perfectly clear, remove
some of the tadpoles, which have hatched in the glass aquarium, and place
in the "pond." Not more than a dozen should be put in a pan of this
size, since the amount of food and microscopic plants which are on the
stones in the mud, will afford food for only a few tadpoles.

8. Every week add a little more mud from the bottom of the pond or
another stone covered with slime, which is probably some plant growth.
More water from the pond should be added to replace that evaporated.

9. Care should be taken that the tadpole aquarium be kept where the
sun will not shine directly upon it for any length of time, because if the
water gets too warm the tadpoles will die.

10. Remove the "skin" from one side of a tulip leaf, so as to expose
the pulp of the leaf, and give to the tadpoles every day or two. Bits of
hard-boiled egg should be given now and then.

Toads' Eggs and Tadpoles

Leading thought — The toad's eggs are laid in strings of jelly in ponds.
The eggs hatch into tadpoles which are creatures of the water, breathing
by gills, and swimming with a long fin. The tadpoles gradually change to
toads, which are air-breathing creatures, fitted for life on dry land.

Method — The eggs of toads may be found in almost any pond about the
first of May and may be scraped up from the bottom in a scoop-net. They
should be placed in the aquarium where the children can watch the stages
of development. Soon after they are hatched, a dozen or so should be
selected and placed in the tadpole aquarium and the others put back into
the stream. The children should observe the tadpoles every day, watch-
ing carefully all the changes of structure and habit which take place. If
properly fed, the tadpoles will be ready to leave the water in July, as tiny
toads.

Observations — i. Where were the toads' eggs found and on what
date ? Were they attached to anything in the water or were they floating
free? Are the eggs in long strings? Do you find any eggs laid in jelly-
like masses? If so, what are they? How can you tell the eggs of toads
from those of frogs?

2. Is the jellylike substance in which the eggs are placed clear or
discolored? What is the shape and the size of the eggs? A little later
how do they look? Do the young tadpoles move about while they are
still in the jelly mass?

3. Describe how the little tadpole works its way out from the jelly
covering. Can you distinguish then which is head and which is tail?
How does it act at first? Where and how does it rest?

4. Can you see with the aid of a lens the little fringes on each side of
the neck? What are these? Do these fringes disappear a little later?
Do they disappear on both sides of the neck at once? What becomes of

Batrachian Study

187

Toad development in a single season (iQoj).
1-18. Changes and growth from April to November 9-14, Different sizes, July 30 1903
1-13 Development m 25 to 60 days 15-18 DUlerent sizes, October 21. 1903

10 . 1 1 . The same tadpole, 1 1 is 47 hours older than 10
12, 13, The same tadpole, 13 is 47 hours older than 12
Photo by S. H. Gage.

1 88 Handbook of N ature-Study

them? How does the tadpole breathe? Can you see the little hole on
the left side, through which the water used for breathing passes?

5. How does the tail look and how is it used? How long is it in
proportion to the body? Describe the act of swimming.

6. Which pair of legs appears first ? How do they look? When they
get a little larger are they used as a help in swimming ? Describe the hind
legs and feet.

7. How long after the hind legs appear before the front legs or arms
appear ? What happens to the breathing-pore when the left arm is pushed
through ?

8. After both pairs of legs are developed what happens to the tail?
W^hat becomes of it ?

9. When the tadpole is very young can you see its eyes? How do
they look as it grows older? Do they ever bulge out like toads' eyes?

10. As the tadpole gains its legs and loses its tail how does it change
in its actions? How does it swim now? Does it come oftener to the
surface ? Why ?

11. Describe the difference between the front and the hind legs and
the front and the hind feet on the fully grown tadpole. If the tail or
a leg is bitten off by some other creature will it grow again?

LESSON XLV
The Toad

Leading thought — The toad is colored so that it resembles the soil and
thus escapes the observation of its enemies. It lives in damp places and
eats insects, usually hunting them at night. It has powerful hind legs
and is a vigorous jumper.

Method — Make a moss garden in a glass aquarium jar thus: Place
some stones or gravel in the bottom of the jar and cover with moss.
Cover the jar with a wire screen. The moss should be deluged with
water at least once a day and the jar should be placed where the direct
sunlight will not reach it. In this jar, place the toad for study.

Observations — i. Describe the general color of the toad above and
below. How does the toad's back look? Of what use are the warts on
its back?

2. Where is the toad usually found? Does it feel warm or cold to the
hand? Is it slimy or dry? The toad is a cold-blooded animal, what does
this mean?

3. Describe the eyes and explain how their situation is of special
advantage to the toad. Do you think it can see in front and behind and
above all at the same time. Does the bulge of the eyes help in this?
Note the shape and color of the pupil and iris. How does the toad wink?

4. Find and describe the nostrils. Find and describe the ear.
Note the swelling above and just back of the ear. Do you know the use
of this?

5. What is the shape of the toad's mouth? Has it any teeth? Is
the toad's tongue attached to the front or the back part of the mouth?
How is it used to catch insects?

6. Describe the "arms and hands." How many "fingers" on the
"hand ?" Which way do the fingers point when the toad is sitting down ?

BatracJiian Study ig-.

7. Describe the legs and feet. How man}- toes are there? What is
the relative length of the toes and how are they connected ? What is this
web between the toes for? Why are the hind legs so much larger than
the front legs?

8. Will a toad change color if placed upon different ccjlored objects?
How long does it take it to do this? Of what advantage is this to the
toad ?

9. Where does the toad live? When it is disturbed hcnv does it act?
How far can it jump ? If very frightened does it flatten out and lie still ?
Why is this?

10. At what time does the toad come out to hunt insects? How does
it catch the insect? Does it swallow an earthworm head or tail first?
When swallowing an earthworm or large insect, how does it use its
hands? How does it act when swallowing a large mouthful?

1 1 ._ How does the toad drink ? Where does it remain during the day ?
Describe how it burrows into the earth.

12. What happens to the toad in the winter? What does it do in
the spring? Is it a good swimmer? How does it use its legs in swimming?

13. How does the toad look when croaking? What sort of a noise
does it make?

14. Describe the action of the toad's throat when breathing. Did
you ever see a toad shed its skin ?

15. What are the toad's enemies? How does it act when caught by
a snake? Does it make any noise? Is it swallowed head or tail first?
What means has it of escaping or defending itself from its enemies?

16. How is the toad of great use to the farmer and gardener?
References — "The Life History of the Toad," by S. H. Gage, Cornell

Nature-Study Volume; The Frog Book, Dickerson.

Supplementary reading — "K'dunk, the fat one," A Little Brother to
the Bear, Long.

"In the early years ive are not to ieaeh nature as science, we are not to teach it
primarily for method or for drill: ive are to teacJi it for loving — atid this is nature-
study. On these points I make no compromise."

— L. H. Haii.ky.

jQo Haridbook of Nature-Study

THE TREE-FROG, OR TREE-TOAD

Teacher s Story

"Ere yet the earliest warbler wakes, of coming spring to tell.
From every marsh a chorus breaks, a choir invisible,
As if the blossoms underground, a breath of utterance had found." — ^Tabb.

SSOCIATED with the first songs of robin and bluebird,
is the equally delightful chorus of the spring peepers,
yet how infrequently do most of us see a member _ of
this invisible choir! There are some creatures which
are the quintessence of the slang word "cute'' which,
interpreted, means the pefection of Lilliputian pro-
portions, permeated with undaunted spirit. The
chickadee is one of these, and the tree-frog is another.
I confess to a thrill of dehght when the Picker-
ing's hyla Hfts itself on its tiny front feet, twists
its'' head knowingly, and turns on me the full
gaze of its bronze-rimmed eyes. This is the
tiniest froglet of them all, being little more than
an inch long when fully grown; it wears the
Greek cross in darker color upon its back, with
some stripes across its long hind legs which join
the pattern on the back when the frog is "shut
up," as the boys say.

The reason we see so Httle of tree-frogs, is
because they are protected from discovery by
their color. They have the chameleon power
of changing color to match their background.
The Pickering's hyla will effect this change in
twenty minutes; in this species, the darker
lines forming the cross change first, givmg a

mottled appearance which is at once protective.

I have taken three of these peepers, all of them

pale yellowish brown with gray markings, and

have placed one upon a fern, one on dark soil

and one on the purple bud of a flower. Withm

half an hour, each matched its surroundings so

closely, that the casual eye would not detect

them. ' The song of the Pickering's hyla is a

resonant chirp, very stirring when heard nearby;

it sounds somewhat like the note of a water bird.

How such a small creature can make such a loud

noise, is a mystery. The process, however, may

be watched at night by the light of a lamp, as

none of the tree-frogs seem to pay any atten-
tion to an artificial light; the thin' membrane

beneath the throat swells out until it seems

almost large enough to balloon the little chap off

his perch. No wonder that, with such a sound-
ing-sac. the note is stirring. There are several

species of tree-frogs that trill in the branches

Sitting for their pictures.

Pickering's Hyla.

Photo by Cyrus Crosby.

Batrachian Study

191

above our heads all summer, and their songs are sometimes mistaken for
those of the cicada, which is far more shrill.

The tree-frogs have toes and fingers ending in little round discs which
secrete at will a substance by means of which they can cling to vertical
surfaces, even to glass. In fact, the way to study these wonderful feet is
when the frog is climbing up the sides of the glass jar. The fingers are
arranged, two short inside ones, a long one, and another short one outside.
The hind feet have three shorter inside toes quite far apart, a
long one at the tip of the foot and a shorter one outside. When climbing
a smooth surface hke glass, the toes are spread wide apart, and there
are other httle clinging discs on their lower sides, although not so
large as those at the tips. It is by means of these sticky, disc-Hke toes
that the tree-frogs hold themselves upon the tree trunks.

The whole body of the tree-frog is covered with little tubercles,
which give it a roughened appearance. The eyes are black with the iris
of reddish color. The tongue is like that of other frogs, hinged to the
front of the lower jaw; it is sticky and can be thrust far out to capture
insects, of which the tree-frogs eat vast numbers.

The hylas breathe by the rapid pulsation of the membrane of
the throat, which makes the whole body tremble. The nostrils are
two tiny holes on either side of the tip of the snout. The ears are a
little below and just behind the eyes, and are in the form of a circular
sHt.

The eggls of the spring peepers are laid in ponds during April; eac-
egg has a little globe of jelly about it and is fastened to a ston
or a water pant. The tadpoles are small and delicate; the under sidh
of the body is reddish and shines with metallic lustre. These fade
poles differ from those of other frogs in that they oftene
leave the water while yet
the tail is still quite long.
In summer, they may be
found among the leaves and
moss around the banks
of ponds. They are in-
defatigable in hunting for
gnats, mosquitoes and ants;
their destruction of mosqui-
toes, as pollywogs and as
grown up frogs, renders them
of great use to us. The voice
of this peeper may be heard
among the shrubs and vines
or in trees during late sum-
mer and until November.
The little creatures sleep be-
neath moss and leaves
during the winter, waking to
give us the earliest news of
spring.

Tree-frog tadpoles.

102 Handbook of Nature-Study

LESSON XLVI
The Tree-frog or Tree-toad

Leading thought — The prettiest part of the spring chorus of the frog
ponds is sung by the tree-frogs. These httle frogs have the tips of
their toes specially fitted for climbing up the sides of trees.

Method — Make a moss garden in an aquarium jar or a two-quart can.
Place stones in the bottom and moss at one side, leaving a place on
the other side for a tiny pond of water. In this garden place a tree-
frog and cover the jar with mosquito netting and place in the shade.
The frogs may be foundby searching the banks of a pond at night
with a lantern. However, this lesson is usually given when by
accident the tree-frog is discovered. Any species of tree-frog will do; but
the Pickering's hyla, known everywhere as the spring peeper, is the most
interesting species to study.

Observations — i. How large is the tree-frog? What is its color?
Describe the markings.

2. Place the tree-frog on some light-colored surface like a piece of
white blotting paper. Note if it changes color after a half hour. Later
place it upon some dark surface. Note if it changes color again. How
does this power of changing color benefit the tree-frog? Place a tree-frog
on a piece of bark. After a time is it noticeable?

3 Describe the eyes. Note how Httle the tree-frog turns its head
to see anything behind it. Describe its actions if its attention is attracted
to anything. What color is the pupil? The iris?

4. Note the movement of breathing. Where does this show the most?
Examine the delicate membrane beneath the throat. What has this to
do with the breathing?

5. What is the tree-frog's note? At what time of day does it peep?
At what time of year? Describe how the frog looks when peeping.

6. How does the tree-frog climb? When it is climbing up a vertical
surface study its toes. How many on the front foot'' How are they
arranged? How many toes on the hind foot? Sketch the front and hind
feet. How do the toe-discs look when pressed against the glass? How
does it manage to make the discs cling and then let go? Are there any
more discs on the under side of the toes? Is there a web between the toes
of the hind feet ? Of the front feet ?

7 . Look at a tree-frog very closely and describe its nostrils and its ears.
8'. Are the tree-frogs good jumpers? What is the size and length of

the hind legs as compared with the body?

9. When and where are the eges of the tree-frog laid? How do they
look?

10. How do the tree-frog tadpoles differ from other tadpoles?
Describe them if you have ever seen them. In what situations do they
live?

11. Of what use are the tree-frogs to us?

References — "The Life History of the Toad," Cornell Nature Study
Volume, S. H. Gage; The Frog Book, Dickerson; Familiar Life of Field
and Forest, Mathews; American Natural History, Homaday; Elemen-
tary Zoology, V. L. Kellogg; From River Ooze to Tree-top, Sharp.

Batrachian Study

^93

Bullfrog.
THE FROG

TeacJier's Story

HE stroller along brooksides, is likely to be surprised
some day, at seeing a bit of moss and earth suddenly
make a high leap and a far one, without apparent
provocation. An investigation resolves the clump of
moss into a brilliantly green and yellow, striped frog,
and then the stroller wonders how he could have over-
looked such an obvious creature. But the leopard
frog is only obvious when it is out of its environment.
The common green frog is quite as well protected since its color is exactly
that of green pools. Most frogs spend their lives in or about water, and
if caught on land, they make great leaps to reach their native element;
the leopard frog and a few other species sometimes wander far afield.

In form, the frog is more slim than the toad, and is not covered with
great warts; it is cold and slippery to the touch. The fnjg's only chance
of escaping its enemies, is through the slipperiness of its body and by
making long, rapid leaps. As a jumper, the frog is much more powerful
than the toad because its hind legs are so much larger and more muscular,
in comparison with its size. The first toe in the front feet of the leopard
frog is much swollen, making a fat thumb ; the mechanics of the hind legs
make it possible for the frog to feather the webbed feet as it swims. On
the bottom of the toes are hardened places at the joints, and sometimes
others besides, which give the foot a strong hold when pushing for the
jump. The toe tips, when they are pressed against the glass, resemble
slightly the tree-toads' discs. The hind foot is very long, while on the
front foot the toes radiate almost in a circle. The foot and leg are
colored like the back of the body above, and on the under side resemble
the under parts.

1^4 Handbook of Nature-Study

The frog is likely to be much more brightly colored than the toad, and
usually has much of green and yellow in its dress. But the frog lives
among green things, while it is to the toad's advantage to be the color of
the soil. Frogs also have the chameleon power of changing color, to
harmonize with their environment. I have seen a very green leopard
frog change to a slate-gray when placed upon slate-colored rock. The
change took place in the green portions. The common green frog will
likewise change to slate-color, in a similar situation. A leopard frog
changed quickly from dark green to pale olive, when it was placed in the
water after having been on the soil.

The eyes of frogs are very prominent, and are beautiful when observed
closely. " The green frog has a dark bronze iris with a gleaming gold edge
around the pupil, and around the outer margin. The eye of the leopard
frog is darker; the iris seems to be black, with specks of ruddy gold
scattered through it, and there is an outer band of red-gold around the
margin. When the frog winks, the nictitating membrane rises from
below and covers the whole eye; and when the frog makes a special effort
of any sort, it has a comical way of drawing its eyes back into its head.
When trying to hide at the bottom of the aquarium, the leopard species
lets the eye-lids fall over the eyes, so that they do not shine up and attract
pursuers.

The ear is in a similar position to that of the toad, and in the bullfrog,
is larger than the eye. In the green frog, it is a dull grayish disc, almost
as large as the eye. In the leopard frog, it is not so large as the eye, and
has a giltish spot at the center.

The nostrils are small and are closed when below the water, as may be
easily seen by a lens. The mouth opens widely, the comers extending
back under the eye. The jaws are homy and are armed with teeth,
which are for the purpose of biting off food rather than for chewing it.
When above water, the throat keeps up a rythmic motion which is the
process of breathing; but when below water this motion ceases. The
food of frogs is largely composed of insects, that frequent damp places
or that live in the water.

The sound-sacs of the frogs, instead of being beneath the throat, as is
the case with toads and tree-frogs, are at the side of the throat; and when
inflated, may extend from just back of the eyes, out above the front legs.
The song is characteristic, and pleasant to listen to, if not too close by.
Perhaps exception should be made to the lay of the bullfrog, which like
the song of some noted opera singers, is more wonderful than musical;
the boom of the bullfrog makes the earth fairly quake. If we seize the
frog by the hind leg, it will usually croak and thus demonstrate for us,
the position of its sound-sacs.

In addition to the snakes, the frogs have inveterate enemies in the
herons which frequent shallow water, and eat them in great numbers.
The frogs hibernate in mud and about ponds, burrowing deep enough to
escape freezing. In the spring, they come up and sing their spring songs
and the mother frogs lay their eggs in masses of jelly on the bottom of the
pond, usually where the water is deeper than in the situations where the
toads' eggs are laid. The eggs of the two can always be distinguished,
since the toads' are laid in strings of jelly, while the frogs' are laid in masses.

It is amusing to watch with a lens, the frog tadpoles seeking tor their
microscopic food along the glass of the aquanum. There are horny

Batrachian Study

195

tipper and lower jaws, the latter being below and back of the former. The
upper jaw moves back and forth slightly and rythmically, but the drop-
ping of the lower jaw opens the mouth. There are three rows of tiny
black teeth below the mouth and one row above ; at the sides and below
these teeth are little, finger-like fringes. Fringes, rows of teeth and jaws
all work together, up and down, out and in, in the process of breathing.
The nostrils, although minute, are present in the tadpole in its early
stages. The pupil of the eye is almost circular and the iris is usually
yellow or copper-bronze, with black mottling. The eyes do not wink nor
withdraw. The breathing-pore on the left side, is a hole in a slight
protuberance.

At first, the tadpoles of the frogs and toads are very much alike; but
later, most of the frog tadpoles are lighter in color, usually being olive-
green, mottled with specks of black and white. The frog tadpoles usually
remain much longer than the toads in the tadpole stage, and when finally
they change to adults, they are far larger in size than the toads are, when
they attain their jumping legs.

Frog's eggs.

LESSON XLVII
The Frog

Leading thought — The frog lives near or in ponds or streams. It is a
powerful jumper and has a slippery body. Its eggs are laid in masses of
jelly at the bottom of ponds.

Method — The frog may be studied in its native situation by the pupils
or it may be brought to the school and placed in an aquarium ; however,
to make a frog aquarium there needs to be a stick or stone projecting
above the water, for the frog likes to spend part of the time entirely
out of water or only partially submerged.

Observations — i. Where is the frog found? Does it live all its life m
the water? When found on land how and where does it seek to escape?

2. Compare the form of the frog with that of the toad. Describe
the skin, its color and texture. Compare the skin of the two.

T,. Describe the colors and markings of the frog on the upper and
on the under side. How do these protect it from observation from above ?
From below? How do we usually discover that we are in the vicinity of a

frog?

4. Describe the frog's ears, eyes, nostrils and mouth.

5. Compare its "hands and feet" with those of the toad. Why the
difference in the hind legs and feet?

196

Handbook of Nature- Study

6 How doe<= the frog feel to your hand? Is it easy to hold him?
How does this slipperiness of the frog benefit it?

7. On what does the frog feed? What feeds on it? How does it
escape its enemies?

8. What sounds does the frog make? Where are its sound sacs
located ? How do they look when they are inflated ?

9. Is the frog a good swimmer? Is it a better jumper than the toad?
Why?

10. Where are the frog's eggs laid? How do they look?

11. Can you tell the frog tadpoles from those of the toad? Which
remains longer in the tadpole stage? Study the frog tadpoles, following
the questions given in Lesson XLIV.

12. What happens to the frog in winter?

FESTINA LEXTE

Once 011 a time there iva'! a pool
Fringed all about ivith flag-leaves cool
And spotted with cow-lilies garish.
Of frogs and pouts the ancient parish.
Alders the creaking redivings sink on.
Tussocks that house blithe Bob o' Lincoln,
Hedged round the iDiassailed seclusion.
Where muskrats piled their cells Carthu-
sian;
And many a moss-embroidered log.
The luatering-placc of summer frog.
Slept and decayed tvitli patioit skill,
As watering-places sometimes will.
Now in this Abbey of Theleme,
Which realized the fairest dream
That ever dozing bull-frog had.
Sunned, on a half -sunk lily pad.
There rose a party with a mission
To mend the polliwog's conditio ti,
Who notified the selectmen
To call a meeting there and then.
"Some kind of steps," they said, "are

needed;
They don't come on so fast as we did:
Let's dock their tails; if that don't make

ein

Frogs by brevet, the Old One take 'em!
That boy, that came the other day
To dig some flag-root down this way.
His jack-knife left, and 'tis a sign
That Heaven approves of our design:
'T were wicked not to urge the step on.
When Providence has sent the iveapon.".
Old croakers, deacons of the mire,
That led the deep batrachian choir,
"Ukl Uk! Caronk!" ivith bass that might
Have left Lablache's out of sight.
Shook nobby heads, and said "No, go!
You'd better let 'em try to grow:
Old Doctor Time is slow, but still
He does know how to make a pill."
But vain was all their hoarsest bass.
Their old experience out of place.
And spite of croaking and entreating

The vote was carried in marsh-meeting.
"Lord knows, "protest the polliivogs,
"We're anxious to be grown-up frogs;
But don't push in to do the work
Of Nature till she prove a shirk;
'Tis not by jumps that she advances.
But wins her ivay by circumstances;
Pray, ivait awhile, until you know
We're so contrived as not to grow;
Let Nature take her own direction.
And she'll absorb our imperfection;
You mightn't like 'em to appear with.
But we must have the tilings to steer with."
"No," piped the party of reform,
"All great results are ta'en by storm;
Fate holds her best gifts till we show
We've strength to make her let them go;
The Providence that ivorks in history,
And seems to some folks such a mystery.
Does not creep slowly on, incog..
But moves by jumps, a mighty frog;
No more reject the Age's chrism.
Your queues are an anachronism;
No more the future's promise mock.
But lay your tails upon the block.
Thankful that we the means have voted
To have you thus to frogs promoted."
The thing was done, the tails were cropped.
And home each philotadpole hopped.
In faith rewarded to exult.
And wait ihe beautiful result.
Too soon it came; oitr pool, so long
The theme of patriot bull-frog's song.
Next day was reeking, fit to smother.
With heads arid tails that missed each

other, —
Here snoutless tails, there tailless snouts;
The only gainers were the pouts.

MORAL
From lower to the higher next.
Not to the top is Nature's text;
And embryo Good, to reach full stature.
Absorbs the Evil in its nature.

— Lowell

Batrachian Study loy

THE NEWT, EFT, OR SALAMANDER
Teacher's Story

FTER a rain in spring or summer, we see these little orange-red
creatures sprawling along roads or woodland paths, and
since they are rarely seen except after rain, the wise people
of old, declared they rained down, which was an easy way
for explaining their presence. But the newts do not rain
down, they rain up instead, since if they have journeys to make they
must needs go forth when the ground is wet, otherwise they would dry
up and die. Thus, the newts make a practice of never going out except
when it rains. A closer view of the eft shows plenty of peculiarities
in its appearance to interest us. Its colors are decidedly gay, the body
color being orange, ornamented with vermilion dots along each side of
the back, each red dot margined with tiny black specks; but the eft is
careless about these decorations and may have more spots on one side
than on the other. Besides these vermilion dots, it is also adorned
with black specks here and there, and especially along its sides looks as
if it had been peppered. The newt's greatest beauty lies in its eyes;
these are black, with elongated pupils, almost parallel with the length of
the head, and bordered above and below with bands of golden, shining iris
which give the eyes a fascinating brilliancy. The nostrils are mere pin-
holes in the end of the snout.

The legs and feet look queerly inadequate for such a long body, since
they are short and far apart. There are four toes on the front feet and
five on the hind feet, the latter being decidedly pudgy. The legs are
thinner where they join the body and wider toward the feet. The eft
can move very rapidly with its scant equipment of legs. It has a mis-
leading way of remaining motionless for a long time and then darting
forward like a flash, its long body falling into graceful curves as it moves.
But it can go very slowly when exploring; it then places its little hands
cautiously and Hfts its head as high as its short arms will allow, in order to
take observations. Although it can see quite well, yet on an unusual
surface, like glass, it seems to feel the way by touching its lower lip to the
surface as if to test it. The tail is flattened at the sides and is used to
twine around objects in time of need ; and I am sure it is also used to push
the eft while crawling, for it curves this way and that vigorously, as the
feet progress, and obviously pushes against the ground. Then, "too, the
tail is an aid when, by some chance, the eft is turned over on its back, for
with its help, it can right itself speedily. The eft's method of walking is
interesting; it moves forward one front foot and then the hind foot on
the other side ; after a stop for rest, it begins just where it left oft" when
it again starts on. Its beautiful eyes seem to serve the newt well indeed,
for I find that, when it sees my face approaching the moss jar, it climbs
promptly over to the other side. There are no eyelids for the golden
eyes, but the eft can pull them back into its head and close the slit after
them, thus making them very safe.

The eft with whose acquaintance I was most favored, was not yet
mature and was afraid of earthworms ; but he was very fond of plant-lice
and it was fun to see the little creature stalking them." A big rose plant-
louse would be squirming with satisfaction as it sucked the juice of the
leaf, when the eft would catch sight of it and become greatly

198

Hmidbook of Nature-Study

excited, evidently holding his breath since the pulsating throat
would iDecome rigid. There was a particularly alert attitude of the

whole front part of
the body and espec-
ially of the eyes and
the head; then the
neck would stretch
out long and thin,
the orange snout ap-
proach stealthily
within half an inch
of the smug aphid,
and then there was a
flash as of lightning,
something too swift
to see coming out of
the eft's mouth and
swooping up the un-

D ^ . .. ^ , . lu- ^1 , T suspecting louse.

Red-s potted newt stalking plant-ttce. rp, ,1 ■,■,■,

^ ^ ihen there would be

a gulp or two and all would be over. If the aphid happened to be a big

one, the eft made visible effort to swallow it. Sometimes his eftship

would become greatly excited when he first saw the plant-louse, and he

would sneeze and snort in a very comical way, like a dog, when eager

for game.

The following is the history of this species as summarized from Mrs. S.
H. Gage's charming "Story of Little Red Spot." The egg was laid in some
fresh water pond or the still borders of some stream where there is a
growth of water weed. The egg, which is about the size of a small pea,
is fastened to a water plant. It is covered with a tough but translucent
envelope, and has at the center a little yellowish globule. In a little less
than a month the eft hatches, but it looks very different from the form
with which we are most familiar. It has gray stripes upon its sides and
three tiny bunches of red gills on each side, just back of its broad head.
The tail is long and very thin, surrounded by a fin; it is an expert swim-
mer and breathes water as does a fish. After a time, it becomes greenish
above and buff below, and by the middle of August it develops legs and
has changed its form so that it is able to live upon land; it no longer has
gills or fin ; soon the coat changes to the bright orange hue which makes
the little creature so conspicuous.

The newt usually keeps hidden among moss, or under leaves, or in
decaying wood, or other damp and shady places; but after a rain, when
the whole world is damp, it feels confidence enough to go out in the open,
and hunt for food. For two and a half years it lives upon land and then
returns to the water. When this impulse comes upon it, it may be far
from any stream; but it seems to know instinctively where to go. Soon
after it enters the water, it is again transformed in color, becoming olive-
green above and buff below, although it still retains the red spots along
the back, as mementos of its land life; and it also retains its pepper-like
dots. Its tail develops a fin which extends along its back and is some-
what ruffled. In some mysterious way it develops the power to again
breathe the air which is mixed with water.

Batrachian Study

199

The male has the hmd legs very large and flat; the female is lighter
in color and has more delicate and smaller legs. It is here in the water
that the efts find their mates and finish careers which must have surely
been hazardous. During its long and varied life, the eft often sheds its
skin like the snake; it has a strange habit of swallowing its cast-ofi[ coat.

LESSON XLVIII
The Newt, Eft, or "Salamander"

Leading thought — The newts change their form three
times to fit different modes of life. They are born in the
water and at first have fins and gills like fishes. They then
live on land, and have lungs for breathing air and lose
their fins ; later they go back to the water and again
develop the power of breathing the oxygen contained in
water, and also a fin.

Method — The little, orange eft or red-spotted salaman-
der may be kept in an aquarium which has in it an
object, as a stone or a clump of moss which projects above
the water. For food it should be given small earthworms
or leaves covered with plant lice. In this way it maybe vermilion
studied at leisure. "i"'"^^ - "^"'^

Early stage of

Observations — i. Look at the eft closely. Is it all the

Egg

att

IS of
ach

newt
ked to

same color? How many spots upon its back and what water plant.
colors are they? Are there the same number of spots on Drawn by Anna
both sides? Are there any spots or dots besides these "^^

larger ones? How does the eft resemble a toad?

2. Is the head the widest part of the body? Describe the eyes, the
shape and color of the pupil and of the iris. How does the eft wink?
Do you think it can see well?

3 . Can you see the nostrils ? How does the throat move and why ?

4. Are both pairs of legs the same size? How many toes on the front
feet? How many toes on the hind feet? Does the eft toe-in with its
front feet like a toad?

5. Doesit move more than one foot at a time when walking? Does it
use the feet on the same side in two consecutive steps? After putting for-
ward the right front foot what foot follows next ? Can it move backward ?

6. Is the tail as long as the head and body together? Is the tail
round or flat at the sides? How is it used to help the eft when traveling?
Does the tail drag or is it lifted, or does it push by squirming?

7. How does the eft act when startled? Docs it examine its sur-
roundings? Do you think it can see and is afraid of you?

8. Why do we find these creatures only during wet weather? Why
do people think they rain down?

9. What does the eft eat ? How does it catch its prey ?
its skin ? How many kinds of efts have you seen ?

10. From what kind of egg does the eft hatch? When is this egg
laid? How does it look? On what is it fastened?

1 1 . How many times during its fife does the orange eft change color?
What part of its Hfe is spent upon land ? What changes take place in its
form when it leaves the water for life upon land, and what changes take
place in its structure when it returns to the water?

Does it shed

2 00

Handbook of Nature-Study
IV. REPTILE STUDY

Yet ivhen a cliild and barefoot; I more than once, at morn,
Have passed, I thought, a ivhiplash unhraided in the sun,
When, stooping to secure it, it wrinkled, and was gone.

— Emily Dickinson.

F the teacher couid bring herself to take as much interest as
did Mother Eve in that "subtile animal," as the Bible calls
the serpent, she might, through such interest, enter the
paradise of the boyish heart instead of losing a paradise of
her own. How many teachers, who have an aversion for
snakes, are obliged to teach small boys whose pet diversion
is capturing these living ribbons and bringing them into
the schoolroom stowed away not too securely in pockets!
In one of the suburban Brooklyn schools, boys of this ilk sought to
frighten their teacher with their weird prisoners. But she was equal to
the occasion, and surprised them by declaring that there were many
interesting things to be studied about snakes, and forthwith sent to the
library for books which discussed these reptiles; and this was the begin-
ning of a nature-study club of rare efficiency and enterprise.

There are abroad in the land, many errors concerning snakes. Most
people believe that they are all venomous, which is far from true. The
rattlesnake still holds its own in rocky, mountainous places and the
moccasin haunts the bayous of the southern coast; however, in most
locaHties, snakes are not only harmless but are beneficial to the farmer.
The superstition that if a snake is killed, its tail will live until sun-down, is
general and has but slender foundation in the fact that snakes, being
lower in their nerve-organization than mammals, the process of death is a
slow one. Some people firmly believe that snakes spring or jump from
the ground to seize their prey, which is quite false since no snake jumps
clear of the ground as it strikes, nor does it spring from a perfect coil.
Nor are snakes sHmy, quite to the contrary, they are covered with per-
fectly dry scales. But the most general superstition of all is that,_when
a snake thrusts out its tongue, it is an act of animosity; the fact is, the
tongue is a sense organ and is used as an insect uses its feelers or antennae,
and the act is also supposed to aid the creature in heanng; thus when a
snake thrusts out its tongue, it is simply trying to find out about its sur-
roundings and what is going on.

Snakes are the only creatures able to swallow objects larger than
themselves. This is rendered possible by the elasticity of the body walls,
and the fact that snakes have an extra bone hinging the upper to the lower
jaw, allowing them to spread widely; the lower jaw also separates at the
middle of its front edge and spreads apart sidewise. In order to force a
creature into a "bag" so manifestly too small, a special mechanism is
needed; the teeth supply this by pointing backward, and thus assist in
the swallowing. The snake moves by literally walking on the ends of its
ribs, which are connected with the crosswise plates on its lower side;_ each
of these crosswise plates has the hind edge projecting down so that it can
hold to an object. Thus, the graceful, noiseless progress of the snake, is
brought about by many of these crosswise plates worked by the move-
ment of the ribs.

Reptile Study 201

Some species of snakes simply chase their prey, striking at it and
catching it in the open month, while others, like the black snake, wind
themselves about their victims crushing them to death. Snakes can live
a long time without food; many instances on record show that they have
been able to exist a year or more without anything to eat. In our north-
em climate they hibernate in winter, going to sleep as soon as the weather
becomes cold and not waking up until spring. As snakes grow, they
shed their skins; this occurs only two or three times a year. The crested
fly-catcher adorns its nest with these phantom snakes.

References — The Reptile Book, by Ditmars, gives interesting accounts
of our common snakes; Mathew's Famihar Life of Field and Forest is
also valuable. To add interest to the snake lessons let the children read
"Kaas Hunting" and "Rikki Tikki Tavi" from Kipling's Jungle Books.

THE GARTER, OR GARDEN, SNAKE

Teacher's Story

A chipmunk, or a sudden-whirring quail,

Is startled hy my step as on I fare.
A gartersnake across the dusty trail.

Glances ajid — is not there. — Riley.

^ARTER snakes can be easily tamed, and are ready to meet
friendly advances half way. A handsome yellow-striped,
black garter lived for four years beneath our piazza and
was very friendly and unafraid of the family. The
children of the campus made it frequent visits, and never
seemed to be weary of watching it; but the birds objected
to it very much, although it never attempted to reach their nests in the
vine above. The garter snakes are the most common of all, in our North-
eastern States. They vary much in color; the ground color may be olive,
brown or black, and down the center of the back is usually a yellow, green
or whitish stripe, usually bordered by a darker band of ground-color.
On each side is a similar stripe, but not so brightly colored; sometimes
the middle stripe, and sometimes the side stripes are broken into spots or
absent; the lower side is greenish white or yellow. When fullv grown
this snake is about three feet in length.

The garters are likely to congregate in numbers in places favorable
for hibernation, Hke rocky ledges or stony side-hills. Here each snake
finds a safe crevice, or makes a burrow which sometimes extends a yard
or more under ground. During the warm days of Indian summer, these
winter hermits crawl out in the middle of the day and sun themselves,
retiring again to their hermitages when the air grows chilly toward night;
and when the cold weather arrives, they go to sleep and do not awaken
until the first warm days of spring; then, if the sun shines hot, they
crawl out and bask in its welcome rays.

After the warm weather comes, the snakes scatter to other localities
more favorable for finding food, and thus these hibernating places are
deserted during the s.ummer. The banks of streams, and the edges of
woods are places which furnish snakes their food, which consists of earth-
worms, insects, toads, salamanders, frogs, etc. The 3'oung are bom late

202

Hmidbook of Nature-Stitdy

in July and are about six inches long at birth; one mother may have in
her brood from eleven to fifty snakelings; she stays with them during
the fall to protect them, and there are many stories about the way the
young ones run down the mother's throat in case of attack; but, as yet,
no scientist has seen this act, or placed it on record. The little snakes
shift for their own food, catching small toads, earthworms and insects.
If it finds food in plenty, the garter snake will mature in one year.
Hawks, crows, skunks, weasels and other predacious animals seem to find
the garter snake attractive food.

Garter snakes.

LESSON XLIX
The Garter, or Garden, vSxake

Leading ihoughi — The garter snake is a common and harmless little
creature and has many interesting habits which are worth studying.

Method — A garter snake may be captured and placed in a box with a
glass cover and thus studied in detail in the schoolroom, but the lesson
should begin with observations made by the children on the snakes in
their native haunts.

Observations — i. What are the colors and markings of your garter
snake? Do the stripes extend along the head as well as the body? How
long is it?

2. Describe its eyes, its ears, its nostrils and its mouth

3. If you disturb it how does it act? Why does it thrust its tongue
out? What shape is its tongue?

Reptile Study 203

4. In what position is the snake when it rests? Can you see how
it moves? Look upon the lower side. Can you see the Httle plates
extending crosswise? Do you think it moves by moving these plates?
Let it crawl across your hand, and see if you can tell how it moves.

5. What does the garter snake eat? Did you ever see one swallow
a toad? A frog? Did it take it head first or tail first?

6. Where does the garter spend the winter? How early does it
appear in the spring?

7 . At what time of year do you see the young snakes ? Do the young
ones run down the throat of the mother for safety when attacked ? Does
the mother snake defend her young?

8. What enemies has the garter snake?

'No life in earth or air or sky;
The sunbeams, broken silently.
On the bared rocks around me lie, —

Cold rocks with half-wartned lichens scarred.
And scales of tnoss; and scarce a yard
Away, one long strip, yellow-barred.

Lost in a cleft! 'Tis but a stride
To reach it, thrust its roots aside.
And lift it on thy stick astride!

Yet stay! That moment is thy grace!
For round thee, thrilling air and space,
A chattering terror fills the place!

A sound as of dry bones that stir,
In the dead valley! By yon fir _
The locust stops its noon-day whir!

The wild bird hears; smote with the sound.

As if by bullet brought to ground

On broken wing, dips, wheeling round!

The hare, transfixed, with trembling lip,
Halts breathless, on pulsating hip.
And palsied tread, and heels that slip.

Enough, old friend! — 'tis thou. Forget
My heedless foot, nor longer fret
The peace with thy grim castanet!"

From "Crotalus" (The Rattlesnake), Bret Harte.

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Handbook of Nature-Study

THE MILK SNAKE, OR SPOTTED ADDER

Teacher's Story

The grass divides as with a cotnb, a spotted shajt is seen,
And then it doses at your jeet, and opens farther on.

— Emili Dickinson.

I HIS is the snake which is said to milk cows, a most
absurd behef ; it would not milk a cow if it could, and
it could not if it would. It has never yet been induced
to drink milk when in captivity; and if it were very
thirsty, it could not drink more than two teaspoonfuls
of milk at most; thus in any case, its depredations
upon the milk supply need not be feared. Its object,
in frequenting milk houses and stables, is far other than
the milking of cows, for it is an inveterate hunter of
rats and mice and is thus of great benefit to the farmer. It is a constric-
tor, and squeezes its prey to death in its coils.

The ground color of the milk snake is pale gray, but it is covered with
so many brown or dark gray saddle-shaped blotches, that they seem
rather to form the ground-color; the lower side is white, marked with
square black spots and blotches. The snake attains a length of about
three feet when fully grown. Although it is called commonly the spotted
adder, it does not belong to the adders at all, but to the family of the king
snakes.

During July and August, the mother snake lays from seven to twenty
eggs; they are deposited in loose soil, in moist rubbish, in compost heaps,
etc. The egg is a symmetrical oval in shape and is about one and one-
eighth inches long by a half inch in diameter. The shell is soft and white,
like kid leather, and the egg resembles a puffball. The young hatch
nearly two months after the eggs are laid, meanwhile the eggs have in-
creased in size so that the snakelings are nearly eight inches long when they
hatch. The saddle-shaped blotches on the young have much red in them.
The milk snake is not venomous; it will sometimes, in defence, try to
chew the hand of the captor, but the wounds it can inflict are very slight
and heal quickly.

The milk snake, or spotted adder.

Reptile Study 205

LESSON L.
The Milk Snake, or Spotted Adder

Leading thought — The milk snake is found around stables where it
hunts for rats and mice but never milks the cows.

Method — Although the snake acts fiercely, it is perfectly harmless and
maybe captured in the hands and placed in a glass-covered box for a study
in the schoolroom.

Observations — i. Where is the milk snake found? Why is it called
milk snake? Look at its mouth and see if you think it could possibly
suck a cow. See if you can get the snake to drink milk.

2. What does it live upon? How does it kill its prey? Can the
milk snake climb a tree?

3. Where does the mother snake lay her eggs? How do the eggs
look? How large are they? How long are the little snakes when they
hatch from the egg^ Are they the same color as the old ones?

4. Describe carefully the colors and markings of the milk snake and
explain how its colors protect it from observation. What are its colors on
the under side?

5. Have you ever seen a snake shed its skin? Describe how it was
done. How does the sloughed-off skin look? What bird always puts
snake skins around its nest?

/ have the same objection to killing a snake that I have to the killing of any other
animal, yet the most hum.ane man I know never omits to kill one.

A^<S- 5, 1853.

The mower on the river meadows, when he comes to open his hay these days, en-
counters sotne overgrown water adder, full of young {?) and bold in defense of its
progeny, and tells a tale when he comes home at night which causes a shudder to run
through the village — how it came at him and he ran, and it pursued and overtook him,
and he transfixed it with a pitchfork and laid it on a cock of hay, but it revived and catne
at him again. This is the story he tells in the shops at evening. The big snake is a sort
of fabulous animal. It is always as big as a man's arm and of indefinite length.
Nobody knows exactly how deadly is its bite but nobody is known to have been bitten and
recovered. Irishm.en introduced into these meadows for the first time, on seeing a stiake,
a creature which they have seen only in pictures before, lay doivn their scythes and run
as if it were the Evil One himself and cannot be induced to return to their work. They
sigh for Ireland, where they say there is no venomous thing that can hurt you.

— Thore.\u's Journal.

i-^O

Hatidbook of Nature-Study

THE WATER SNAKE
Teacher's Story

rVERY boy that goes fishing, knows the snake found com-
monly about mill-dams and wharves or on rocks and
bushes near the water. The teacher will have accomplished
a great work, if these boys are made to realize that this
snake is a more interesting creature for study, than as an
object to pelt with stones.

The water snake is a dingy brown in color, with cross-
bands of brownish or reddish brown which spread out into blotches at
the side. Its color is very protective as it lies on stones or logs in its
favorite attitude of sunning itself. It is very local in its habits, and
generally has a favorite place for basking and returns to it year after
year on sunny days.

This snake lives mostly upon frogs and salamanders and fish ; however,
it preys usually upon fish of small value, so it is of little economicim.port-
ance. It catches its victims by chasing, and seizing them in its jaws.
It has a very keen sense of smell and probably traces its prey in this
rtianner, something as a hound follows a fox. It is an expert swimmer,
usually 'fitting the head a few inches above the water when swimming,
although it is able to dive and remain below the water for a short time.
The water snake is a bluffer, and, when cornered, it flattens itself and
strikes fiercely. But its teeth contain no poison and it can inflict only
slight and harmless wounds. When acting as if it would "rather fight than
eat," if given a slight chance to escape, it will flee to the water like a
"streak of greased lightning," as any boy will assure you.

The water snake.

Reptile Study 207

The water snake attains a length of about four feet. The young do
not hatch from eggs, but are born aUve in August and September; they
differ much in appearance from their parents as they are pale gray in
color, with jet-black cross-bands.

LESSON LI
The Water Snake

Leading thought — The water snake haunts the banks of streams because
its food consists of creatures that live in and about water.

Method — If water snakes are found in the locality, encourage the boys
to capture one without harming it, and bring it to school for observation.
However, as the water snake is very local in its habits, and haunts the
same place year after year, it will be better nature-study to get the children
to observe it in its native surroundings.

Observations — i. Where is the water snake found? How large is the
largest one you ever saw?

2. Why does the water snake live near water? What is its food?
How does it catch its prey?

3. Describe how the water snake swims. How far does its head
project above the water when swimming? How long can it stay com-
pletely beneath the water?

4. Describe the markings and colors of the water snake. How do
these colors protect it from observation? How do the young look?

5. Does each water snake have a favorite place for sunning itself?

6. Where do the water snakes spend the winter?

May 12, 1S58.

Found a large water adder by the edge of Farmer's large miidhole, which abounds
with tadpoles and frogs, on which it was probably feeding. It was sunning on the bank
and would face me a)id dart its head toward me when I tried to drive it from the water.
It is barred above, but indistinctly when out of the water, so that it appears almost
uniformly dark brown, but in the water, broad, reddish brown bars are seen, very dis-
tinctly alternating with very dark-brown ones. The head was very flat and suddenly
broader than the neck behind. Beneath, it was whitish and reddish flesh-color. It was
about two inches in diameter at the thickest part. The inside of its mouth and throat
was pink. They are tJie biggest and most formidable-looking snakes that we have. It
was atvful to see it wind along the bottom of the ditch at last, raising ivreaths of mud
amid the tadpoles, to which it must be a very sea-serpent. I aftencard saw another,
running under Sam Barrett's grist-mill, the same afternoon. He said that he saw a
water-snake, which he distinguished from a black snake, in an apple tree near by, last
year, with a young robin in its mouth, having taken it from the }iest. There was a cleft
or fork in the tree which enabled it to ascend.

— Thoreau's Journal.

208

Handbook of Xatiire-Stiidy

THE TURTLE

Teacher's Story

TURTLE is at heart a misanthrope ; its shell is in itself proof of
its owner's distrust of this world. But we need not
wonder at this misanthropy, if we think for a moment
of the creatures that lived on this earth, at the time
when turtles first appeared. Almost any of us would
have been glad of a shell in which to retire, if we had
been contemporaries of the smilodon and other monsters of earlier geologic
times.

When the turtle feels safe and walks abroad for pleasure, his head pro-
jects far from the front end of his shell, and the legs, so wide, and soft that
they look as if they had no bones in them, project out at the side, while
the little, pointed tail brings up an undiginfied rear; but frighten him
and at once head, legs and tail all disappear, and even if we turn him over,
we see nothing but the tip of the nose, the claws of the feet and the tail
turned deftly sidcwise. When frightened, he hisses threateningly; the
noise seems to be made while the mouth is shut, and the breath emitted
through the nostrils.

Carapace of painted terrapin in retirement.

Plastron of same terrapin.

The u])pcr shell of the turtle is called the carapace and the lower shell,
the plastron. There is much difference in the different species of turtles
in the shape of the upper shell and the size and shape of the lower one.
In most species the carapace is sub-globular but in some it is quite flat.
The upper shell is grown fast to the backbone of the animal, and the
lower shell to the breast bone. The markings and colors of the shell offer
excellent subjects for drawing. The painted terrapin has a red-mottled
border to the shell, very ornamental; the wood turtle has a shell made up
of ]jlates each of which is ornamented with concentric ridges ; and the box-
turtle has a front and rear trap-door, hinged to the plastron, which can
be pulled up against the carapace when the turtle wishes to retire, thus
covering it entirely.

Reptile Study

209

The turtle's head is decidedly snakelike. Its color differs with differ-
ent species. The wood turtle has a triangular, homy covering on the
top of the head, in which the color and beautiful pattern of the shell are
repeated; the underparts are brick-red with indistinct yellowish lines
under the jaw. The eyes are black with a yellowish iris, which somehow
gives them a look of intelligence. The turtle has no eyelids like our own,
but has a nictitating membrane which comes up from below and com-
pletely covers the eye ; if we seize the turtle by the head and attempt to
touch its eyes, we can see the use of this eyelid. When the turtle winks,
it seems to turn the eyeball down against the lower lid.

The sense of smell in turtles is not well developed, as may be guessed
by the very small nostrils, which are mere pin-holes in the snout. The
mouth is a more or less hooked beak, and is armed with cutting edges
instead of teeth. The constant pulsation in the throat is caused by the
turtle swallowing air for breathing.

The turtle's legs, al-
though so large and soft,
have bones within them,
as the skeleton shows.
The claws are long and
strong; there are five
claws on the front and
four on the hind feet.
Some species have a dis-
tinct web between the
toes; in others, it is less
marked, depending upon
whether the species lives
mostly in water or out
of it. The color of the
turtle's body varies with
the species; the body is
covered with coarse,
rough skin made up of
various-sized plates.

The enemies of turtles
are the larger fishes and
other turtles. Two tur-
tles should never be kept
in the same aquarium,
since they eat each
others' tails and legs with
great relish.' They feed
upon insects, small fish,
or almost anything soft-
bodied which they can
find in the water; they
are especially fond of
earthworms. The species which frequent the land, feed upon tender
vegetation and also eat berries. In an aquarium, a turtle should be
fed earthworms, chopped fresh beef, lettuce leaves and berries. The
wood turtle is especially fond of cherries.

Boxy, a trained turtle.
Photo by Silas Lottridge.

2IO Handbook of Nature-Study

The aquarium should always have in it a stone or some other object
projecting above the water, so that the turtle may climb out, if it chooses.
In winter, turtles bury themselves in the ooze at the bottom of ponds and
streams. Their eggs have white leathery shells, are oblong in shape, and
are buried by the mother in the sand or soil near a stream or pond. The
long life of turtles is a well authenticated fact, dates carved upon their
shells show them to have attained the age of thirty or forty years.

The following are, perhaps, the most common species of turtles:

(a) The Snapping Turtle — This sometimes attains a shell 14 inches
long and a weight of forty pounds. It is a vicious creature and inflicts a
severe wound with its sharp, hooked beak; it should not be used for a
nature-study lesson unless the specimen is very young.

(b) The Mud Turtle — The musk turtle and the common mud turtle
both inhabit slow streams and ponds; they are truly aquatic and only
come to shore to deposit their eggs. They cannot eat, unless they are
under water, and they seek their food in the muddy bottoms. The
musk turtle when handled, emits a very strong odor; it has on each
side of the head two broad yellow stripes. The mud turtle has no
odor. Its head is ornamented with greenish yellow spots.

(c) The Painted Terrapin, or Pond Turtle — This can be determined by
the red mottled border of its shell. It makes a good pet, if kept in an
aquarium by itself, but will destroy other creatures. It will eat meat or
chopped fish, and is fond of earthworms and soft insects.

(d) The Spotted Turtle — This has the upper shell black with numerous
round yellow spots upon it. It is common in ponds and marshy streams
and its favorite perch is, with many of its companions, upon a log. It
feeds under water, eating insect larvae, dead fish and vegetation. It
likes fresh lettuce.

(e) The Wood Terrapin — This is our most common turtle ; it is found
in damp woods and wet places, since it lives largely upon the land. Its
upper shell often reaches a length of six and one-half inches and is made
up of many plates, ornamented with concentric ridges. This is the turtle
upon whose shell people carve initials and dates and then set it free. All
the fleshy parts of this turtle, except the top of the head and the limbs,
are brick-red. It feeds on tender vegetables, berries and insects. It
makes an interesting pet and will soon learn to eat from the fingers of its
master.

(f) The Box-Turtle — This is easily distinguished from the others,
because the front and rear portions of the lower shell are hinged so that
they can be pulled up against the upper shell. When this turtle is
attacked, it draws into the shell and closes both front and back doors, and
is very safe from its enemies. It lives entirely upon land and feeds upon
berries, tender vegetation and insects. It Hves to a great age.

(g) The Soft-shelled Turtle — These are found in streams and canals.
The upper shell looks as if it were of one piece of soft leather, and resem-
bles a griddle-cake. Although soft-shelled, these turtles are far from soft-
tempered, and must be handled with care.

Reptile Study

211

LESSON LII
The TiRTLE

Leading thought —
The turtle's shell is
for the purpose of
protecting its owner
from the attack of
enemies. Some tur-
tles live upon land
and others in water.

Method— A turtle
of any kind, in the
schoolroom, is all
that is needed to
make this lesson in-
teresting.

Observaiio ns —
I . How much can you
see of the turtle when
it is walking ? If
you disturb it what
does it do? How
much of it can you
see then? Can you
see more of it from the
lower side than the upper? What is the advantage to the turtle of
having such a shell ?

2. Compare the upper shell with the lower as follows: How are
they shaped differently? What is their difference in color? Would it
be a disadvantage to the turtle if the upper shell were as light colored
as the lower? Why? Make a d;awing of the upper and the lower shell
showing the shape of the plates of w^hich they are composed. Where
are the two grown together?

3. Is the border of the upper shell different from the central portion
in color and markings? Is the edge smooth or scalloped?

4. How far does the turtle's head project from the front of the shell?
What is the shape of the head? With what colors and pattern is it
marked? Describe the eyes. How are they protected? How does the
turtle wink? Can you discover the little e}-elid which comes up from

A snapping turtle.
Photo by J. T. Lloyd.

below to cover the eye?

Do you think it has a keen sense

what does it
Whv is this

5. Describe the nose and nostrils,
of smell?

6. Describe the mouth. Are there any teeth? With
bite off its food? Describe the movement of the throat,
constant pulsation?

7. What is the shape of the leg? How is it marked? How many
claws on the front feet? Are any of the toes webbed? On which feet are
the webbed toes? Why should they be webbed? Describe the way a
turtle swims. Which feet are used for oars?

8. Describe the tail. How much can be seen from above when the
turtle is walking? What becomes of it, when the turtle withdraws into
its shell ?

212 Hmidbook of Nature-Study

g. How much of the turtle's body can you see? What is its color?
Is it rough or smooth ?

10. What are the turtle's enemies? How does it escape from them?
What noise does the turtle make when frightened or angry?

11. Do all turtles live for part of the time in water? What is their
food and where do they find it? Write an account of all the species of
turtles that you know.

12. How do turtle eggs look? Where are they laid? How are they
hidden ?

Supplementaty reading — "Turtle Eggs for Agassiz," Dalles Lore Sharp,
Altantic Monthly, Feb., 1910.

V. MAMMAL STUDY

OR some inexplicable reason, the word animal, in
common parlance, is restricted to the mammals.
As a matter of fact, the bird, the fish, the insect
and the snake have as much right to be called animals as has
the squirrel or the deer. And while I believe that much
freedom in the matter of scientific nomenclature is permissible
in nature-study, 1 also believe that it is well for the child to
have a clearly defined idea of the classes into which the animal
kingdom is divided; and I would have him gain this knowledge
by noting how one animal differs from another rather than by
studying the classification of animals in books. He sees
that the fish differs in many ways from the bird and that the
toad differs from the snake; and it will be easy for him to grasp
the fact that the mammals differ from all other animals in that
the young are nourished by milk produced for this purpose in the breasts
of the mother; when he understands this, he can comprehend how such
diverse forms as the whale, the cow, the bat, and human beings are akin.

Mammal Study

213

A cottoii'tail rabbit.

THE COTTON-TAIL RABBIT
Teacher's Story

"The Bunnies are a jeeHe folk whose weakness is their strength.
To shun a gun a Bun will run to almost aiiy length." — Oliver Herford.

T IS well for Molly Cotton-tail and her family that they
have learned to shun more than guns for almost every
predatory animal and bird makes a dinner of them on
every possible occasion. But despite these enemies,
moreover, with the addition of guns, men and dogs,
the cotton-tail lives and flourishes in our midst. A
"Molly" raised two families last year in a briar-patch
back of our garden on the Cornell Campus, where dogs
of many breeds abound; and after each fresh fall of
snow this winter we have been able to trace our
bunny neighbors in their night wanderings around
the house, beneath the spruces and in the orchard.
The track consists of two long splashes, paired,
little behind them, two smaller ones; the
as a boy uses a vaulting pole and
hind feet on each side and ahead of them; owing to the fact that the
bottoms of the feet are hairy the print is not clear-cut. When the rabbit
is not in a hurry it has a peculiar lope, but when frightened it makes long
jumps. The cotton-tails are night wanderers and usually remain hidden
during the day. In summer, they feed on clover or grass or other juicy
herbs and show a fondness for sweet apples and fresh cabbage; in our

and between and a
uses its front feet

rabbit
lands both

214 Hatidhook of Naiiire-Stvidy

garden last summer Molly was very considerate. She carefully pulled
all the grass out of the garden-cress bed, leaving the salad for our enjoy-
ment. In winter, the long, gnawing teeth of the cotton-tail are some-
times used to the damage of fruit trees and nursery stock since the rabbits
are obliged to feed upon bark in order to keep alive.

The long, strong hind legs and the long ears tell the whole bunny
story. Ears to hear the approach of the enemy, and legs to propel the
listener by long jumps to a safe retreat. The attitude of the ears is a good
indication of the bunny's state of mind ; if they are set back to back and
directed backward, they indicate placidity, but a placidity that is always
on guard; if lifted straight up they signify attention and anxiety; if one
is bent forward and the other backward the meaning is: "Now just
where did that sound come from?" When running or when resting in the
form, the ears are laid back along the neck. When the cotton-tail stands
up on its haunches with both ears erect, it looks very tall indeed.

Not only are the ears always alert, but also the nose; the nostrils are
partially covered and in order to be always sure of getting every scent
they wabble constantly, the split upper Hp aiding in this performance;
when the rabbit is trying to get a scent it moves its head up and down in a
sagacious, apprehensive manner.

The rabbit has an upper and lower pair of incisors like other rodents,
but on the upper jaw there is a short incisor on each side of the large
teeth ; these are of no use now but are inherited from some ancestor which
found them useful. There are at the back of each side of the upper jaw
six grinding teeth, and five on each side of the lower jaw. The split
upper lip allows the free use of the upper incisors. The incisors are not
only used for taking the bark from trees, but also for cutting grass and
other food. The rabbit has a funny way of taking a stem of grass or
clover at the end and with much wabbling of lips, finally taking it in,
meanwhile chewing it with a sidewise motion of the jaws. The rabbits' ,
whiskers are valuable as feelers, and are always kept on the qui vive for
impressions; when two cotton-tails meet each other amicably, they rub
whiskers together. The eyes are large and dark and placed on the bulge
at the side of the head, so as to command the view both ways. Probably
a cotton-tail winks, but I never caught one in the act.

The strong hind legs of the rabbit enable it to make prodigious jumps,
of eight feet or more ; this is a valuable asset to an animal that escapes
its enemies by running. The front feet are short and cannot be turned
inward like those of the squirrel, to hold food. There are five toes on the
front feet, and four on the hind feet; the hair on the bottom of the feet is
a protection, much needed by an animal which sits for long periods upon
the snow. When sleeping, the front paws are folded under and the rabbit
rests on the entire hind foot, with the knee bent, ready for a spring at the
slightest alarm; when awake, it rests on the hind feet and front toes; and
when it wishes to see if the coast is clear, it rises on its hind feet, with
front paws drooping.

The cotton-tail has a color well calculated to protect it from observa-
tion ; it is brownish-gray on the back and a Httle lighter along the sides,
grayish under the chin and whitish below; the ears are edged with black,
and the tail when raised shows a large, white fluff at the rear. The general
color of the rabbit fits in with natural surroundings; since the cotton-tail
often escapes its enemies by "freezing," this color makes the scheme work

Mammal Study 2tc

well. I once saw a marsh hare, on a stone in a brook, freezing most suc-
cessfully. I could hardly believe that a living thing could seem so
much hke a stone; only its bright eyes revealed it to us.

The rabbit cleans itself in amusing ways.
It shakes its feet, one at a time, with great
vigor and rapidity to get off the dirt and then
licks them clean. It washes its face with
both front paws at once. It scratches its ear
with the hind foot, and pushes it forward so
that it can be licked; it takes hold of its fur
with its front feet to pull it around within
reach of the tongue.

The cotton-tail does not dig a burrow. Washing up.

but sometimes occupies the deserted burrow

of a woodchuck or skunk. Its nest is called a "form," which simply
means a place beneath a cover of grass or briars, where the grass is beaten
down or eaten out for a space large enough for the animal to sit. The
mother makes a soft bed for the young, using grass and her own hair for
the purpose; and she constructs a coarse felted coverlet, under which she
tucks her babies with care, every time she leaves them. Young rabbits
are blind at first, but when about three weeks old, are sufficiently grown
to run quite rapidly. Although there may be five or six in a litter, yet
there are so many enemies that only a few escape.

Fox, mink, weasel, hawk, owl and snake all relish the young cotton-
tail if they can get it. Nothing but its runways through the briars can
save it. These roads wind in and out and across, twisting and turning
perplexingly; they are made by cutting off the grass stems, and are just
wide enough for the rabbit's body. However, a rabbit has weapons and
can fight if necessary; it leaps over its enemy, kicking it on the back
fiercely with its great hind feet. Mr. Set on tells of this way of conquering
the black snake, and Mr. Sharp saw a cat completely vanquished by the
same method. The rabbit can also bite, and when two males are fighting,
they bite each other savagely. Mr. E. W. Cleeves told me of a Belgian
doe which showed her enmity to cats in a peculiar way. She would run
after any cats that came in sight, butting them like a billy-goat. The cats
soon learned her tricks, and would climb a tree as soon as they caught
sight of her. The rabbit's sotmd of defiance, is thumping the ground
with the strong hind foot. Some have declared that the front feet are
used also for stamping; although I have heard this indignant thumping
more than once, I could not see the process. The cotton-tail is a hare,
while the common domestic rabbit is a true rabbit. The two differ
chiefly in the habits of nesting; the hares rest and nest in forms, while
the rabbit makes burrows, digging rapidly with the front feet.

Not the least of tributes to the rabbit's sagacity, are the negro folk-
stories told by Uncle Remus, wherein Bre'r Rabbit, although often in
trouble, is really the most clever of all the animals. I have often thought

Rabbit tracks.

2l6

Handbook of Nature Study

when I have seen the tactics which rabbits have adopted to escape dogs,
that we in the North have under-rated the cleverness of this timid animaL
In one instance at least that came under our observation, a cotton-tail
led a dog to the verge of a precipice, then doubled back to safety, while
the dog went over, landing on the rocks nearly three hundred feet below.

LESSON LIII

The Cottox-tail Rabbit

Leading thought —
The cotton-tail thrives
amid civilization; its
color protects it from
sight; its long ears
give it warning of the
approach of danger;
and its long legs en-
able it to run by swift,
long leaps. It feeds
upon grasses, clover,
vegetables and other
herbs.

Method— Thh study
Belgian hares and Dutch rabbit. ^^^ ^^ begun in the

winter, when the rabbit tracks can be observed and the haunts of the
cotton-tail discovered. If caught in a box trap, the cotton-tail will be-
come tame if properly fed and cared for, and may thus be studied at
close range. The cage I have used for rabbits as thus caught, is made
of wire screen, nailed to a frame, making a wire-covered box, two feet
high and two or three feet square, with a door at one side and no bot-
It should be placed upon oil-cloth or linoleum, and thus may be

tom

moved to another carpet when the floor needs cleaning. If it is im-
possible to study the cotton-tail, the domestic rabbit may be used
instead.

Observations — i. What sort of tracks does the cotton-tail make in the
snow? Describe and sketch them. Where do you find these tracks?
How do you know which way the rabbit was going? Follow the track
and see if you can find where the rabbit went. When were these tracks
made, by night or by day? What does the rabbit do during the day?
What does it find to eat during the winter? How are its feet protected
so that they do not freeze in the snow?

2. What are the two most noticeable peculiarities of the rabbit?
Of what use are such large ears? How are the ears held when the rabbit
is resting? When startled? When not quite certain about the direction
of the noise? Explain the reasons for these attitudes. When the rabbit
wishes to make an observation to see if there is danger coming, what does
it do? How does it hold its ears then? How are the ears held when the
animal is running?

3. Do you think the rabbit has a keen sense of smell? Describe the
movements of the nostrils and explain the reason. How does it move its
head to be sure of getting the scent?

Mammal Study 217

4. What peculiarity is there in the upper lip? How would this be an
aid to the rabbit when gnawing? Describe the teeth ; how do these differ
from those of the mouse or squirrel ? Of what advantage are the gnawing
teeth to the rabbit? How docs it eat a stem of grass? Note the rabbit's
whiskers. What do you think they are used for?

5. Describe the eyes. How are they placed so that the rabbit can
see forward and backward?' Do you think that it sleeps with its eyes
open? Does it wink?

6. Why is it advantageous to the rabbit to have such long, strong,
hind legs? Compare them in size with the front legs. Compare the front
and hind feet. How many toes on each? How are the bottoms of the
feet protected? Are the front feet ever used for holding food like the
squirrel's? In what position are the legs when the rabbit is resting?
When it is standing? When lifted up for observation?

7. How does the cotton-tail escape being seen? Describe its coat.
Of what use is the white fluff beneath the tail? Have you ever seen a
wild rabbit "freeze" ? What is meant by freezing and what is the use of it?

8. In making its toilet how does the rabbit clean its face, ears, feet,
and fur ?

9. What do the cotton-tails feed upon during the summer? During
the winter? Do they ever do much damage?

10. Describe the cotton-tail's nest. What is it called? Does it ever
burrow in the ground ? Docs it ever use a second-hand burrow ? Describe
the nest made for the young by the mother. Of what is the bed com-
posed? Of what is the coverlet made? What is the special use of the
coverlet? How do the young cotton-tails look? How old are they
before they are able to take care of themselves?

11. What are the cotton-tail's enemies? How docs it escape them?
Have you ever seen the rabbit roads in a briar patch ? Do you think that
a dog or fox could follow them ? Do rabbits ever fight their enemies? If
so, how? How do they show anger? Do they stamp with the front or
the hind foot ?

12. Tell how the cotton-tail differs in looks and habits from the
common tame rabbit. How do the latter dig their burrows? How
many breeds of tame rabbits do 3'ou know?

13. Write or tell stories on the following topics: "A Cotton-tail's
Story of its Own Life Until it is a Year Old;" "The Jack-rabbit of the
West;" "The Habits of the White Rabbit or Varying Hare;" "The Rab-
bit in Uncle Remus' Tales."

Supplementary r^ac^^ng— "Raggylug" and "Little War Horse," Thomp-
son-Seton; Squirrels and Other Fur Bearers, Burroughs; Watchers in the
Woods, Sharp; American Animals, Stone & Cram; Familiar Lite in
Field and Forest, Mathews; Sharp Eyes, Gibson; Neighbors with Claws
and Hoofs, Johonnot; True Tales of Birds and Beasts, Jordan; Uncle
Remus Stories, especially The Tar Baby, which emphasizes the fact that
the rabbits' runways are in the protecting briar-patch.

2l8

Handbook oj N ature-Sttidy

i^-^ ^-.Ltoll

Winter lodge of muskrats.
Photo by Silas Lottridge.

THE MUSKRAT

Teacher's Story

"Having finished this first co'.irse of big-neck clams, they were joined by a third
miiskrat, and, together, they filed over the bank and down into the meadow. Shortly
two of them returned with great moiithfids of the mud-bleached ends of calamus-blades.
Then followed the washing.

They dropped their loads upon the plank, took tip the stalks, pulled the blades apart,
and soused them up and down in the water, rubbing them with thetr paws until they
were as clean and white as the whitest celery one ever ate. What a dainty picture!
Two little brown creatures, humped on the edge of a plank, washing calamus in moonlit
water!" — Dallas Lore Sharp.

RACKING is a part of every boy's education who
aspires to a knowledge of wood lore ; and a boy with
this accomplishment is stire to be looked upon
with great admiration by other boys, less skilled in
the interpretation of that writing made by small feet,
on the soft snow or on the mud of stream margins.
To such a boy, the track of the muskrat is well
known, and very easily recognized.
The muskrat is essentially a water animal, and therefore its tracks are
to be looked for along the edges of ponds, streams or in marshes. "Whether
the tracks are made by walking or jumping, depends upon the depth of
the snow or mud; if it is deep, the animal jumps, but in shallow snow or
mud, it simply runs along. The tracks show the front feet to be smaller

Mammal Study 219

than the hind ones. The muskrat track is, however, characterized by the
tail imprint. When the creature jumps through the snow, the mark of
the tail follows the paired imprints of the feet; when it walks, there is a
continuous line made by this strong, naked tail. This distinguishes the
track of the muskrat from that of the mink, as the bushy tail of the latter
does not make so distinct a mark. Measuring the track, is simply a
device for making the pupils note its size and shape more carefully. The
tracks may be looked for during the thaws of March or February, when
the muskrats come out of the water to seek food.

In appearance the muskrat is peculiar. The body is usually about a
foot in length and the tail about eight inches. The body is stout and
thickset, the head is rounded and looks like that of a giant meadow
mouse ; the eyes are black and shining; the ears are short and close to the
head; the teeth, like those of other rodents, consist of a pair of front
teeth on each jaw, then a long, bare space and four grinders on each side.
There are long sensitive hairs about the nose and mouth, like the whiskers
of mice.

The muskrat's hind legs are much larger and stronger than the front
ones; and too, the hind feet are much longer than the front feet and have
a web between the toes; there are also stiff hairs which fill the space
between the toes, outside the web, thus making this large hind foot an
excellent swimming organ. The front toes are not webbed and are used
for digging. The claws are long, stout and sharp. The tail is long, stout
and flattened at the sides; it has little or no fur upon it but is covered
with scales; it is used as a scull and also as a rudder when the muskrat is
swimming.

The muskrat's outer coat consists of long, rather coarse hairs; its
under coat is of fur, very thick and fine, and although short, it forms a
waterproof protection for the body of the animal. In color, the fur is
dark brown above with a darker streak along the middle of the back;
beneath, the body is grayish changing to whitish on the throat and lips,
with a brown spot on the chin. In preparing the pelts for commercial
-use, the long hairs are plucked out leaving the soft, fine under coat, which
is dyed and sold under the name of "electric seal."

The muskrat is far better fitted by form, for life in the water than upon
the land. Since it is heavy-bodied and short -legged, it cannot run rapidly
but its strong, webbed hind feet are most efficient oars, and it swims
rapidly and easily; for rudder and propeller the strong, flattened tail
serves admirably, while the fine fur next the body is so perfectly water-
proof that, however much the muskrat swims or dives, it is never wet.
It is a skillful diver and can stay under water for several minutes; when
swimming, its nose and sometimes the head and the tip of the tail appear
on the surface of the water.

The food of muskrats is largely roots, especially those of the sweet flag
and the yellow lily. They also feed on other aquatic plants and are fond
of the fresh-water shell-fish. Mr. Sharp tells us, in one of his delightful
stories, how the muskrats wash their food by sousing it up and down in
water many times before eating it. Often, a muskrat chooses some
special place upon the shore which it uses for a dining-room, bringing
there and eating pieces of lily root or fresh-water clams, and leaving the
debris to show where it habitually dines. It does most of its hunting for food
at night, although sometimes it may be seen thus employed during the day.

220

Handbook of N ature-Siudy

The winter lodge of the muskrat is a most interesting structure. A
foundation of tussocks of rushes, in a stream or shallow pond, is built
upon with reeds plastered with mud, making a rather regular dome which
may be nearly two or three feet high ; or, if many-chambered, it may be a
grand affair of four or five feet elevation ; but it always looks so much Hke
a natural hummock that the eye of the uninitiated never regards it as a
habitation. Always beneath this dome and above the water line, is a
snug, covered chamber carpeted with a soft bed of leaves and moss,
which has a passage leading down into the water below, and also has an
air-hole for ventilation. In these cabins, closely cuddled together, three
or four in a chamber, the muskrats pass the winter. After the pond is
frozen they are safe from their enemies and are always able to go down
into the water and feed upon the roots of water plants. These cabins are
sometimes built in the low, drooping branches of willows or on other
objects.

A imiskrafs stitnmer home.
Drawn by A. MacKinnon, a boy of 13 years.

AYhether the muskrat builds itself a winter lodge or not, depends upon
the nature of the shore which it inhabits; if it is a place particularly fitted
for burrows, then a burrow will be used as a winter retreat; but if the
banks are shallow, the muskrats unite in building cabins. The main
entrance to the muskrat burrow is always below the surface of the water,
the burrow slanting upward and leading to a nest well lined, which is
above the reach of high water; there is always an air hole above, for
ventilating this nest, and there is also often a passage, with a hidden
entrance, leading out to dry land.

The flesh of the muskrat is delicious, and therefore the animal has
many enemies; foxes, weasels, dogs, minks and also hawks and owls prey
upon it. It escapes the sight of its enemies as does the mouse, by having
the color of its fur not noticeable; when discovered, it escapes its enemies
by swimming, although when cornered, it is courageous and fights fiercely,
using its strong incisors as weapons. In winter, it dwells in safety when
the friendly ice protects it from all its enemies except the mink; but it is
exposed to great danger when the streams break up in spring, for it is then
often driven from its cabin by floods, and preyed upon while thus help-
lessly exposed. The muskrat gives warning of danger to its fellows by
splashing the water with its strong tail.

References — "Wild
Woods, Sharp ; Wild
Dept. of Agriculture

Mammal Study 221

It is called musk-
rat because of the
odor, somewhat re-
sembling musk,
which it exhales
from two glands on
the lower side of
the body between
the hind legs; these
glands may be seen
when the skin is
removed, which is
the too common
plight of this poor
creature, since it
is hunted merci-
lessly for its pelt.

The little musk-
rats are bom m
April and there are
visually from six to
eight in a litter.
Another litter may
be produced in
June or July and
a third in August
or September. It is
only thus, by rear-
ing large families
often, that the
muskrats are able
to hold their own
against the hunters
and trappers and
their natural ene-
mies.

Animals, Stone & Cram; A W^atcher in the
Life, Ingersoll, Farmers' Bulletin No. 396, U. S.

The muskrat.

Photo by Silas Lottridge.

LESSON LIV
The Muskrat

Leading thonglit — The muskrat, while a true rodent, is fitted for life
in the water more than for life upon the land. Its hind feet are webbed
for use as oars and its tail is used as a rudder. It builds lodges of mud,
cat-tails and rushes in which it spends the winter.

MetJiod — It might be well to begin this work by asking for observations
on the tracks of the muskrat which may be found about the edges of
almost any creek, pond or marsh. If there are muskrat lodges in the
region they should be visited and described. For studying the muskrat's
form a live muskrat in captivity is almost necessary. If one is trapped

2 22 Hmidbook of Nature-Study

with a "figure four" it will not be injured and it may be made more or
less tame by feeding it with sweet apples, carrots and parsnips. The
pupils can thus stady it at leisure although they should not be allowed to
handle the creature as it inflicts very severe wounds and is never willing
to be handled. If a live muskrat cannot be obtained perhaps some hunter
in the neighborhood will supply a dead one for this observation lesson.

While studying the muskrat the children should read all the stories of
beavers which are available as the two animals are very much alike in
their habits.

Observations — i. In what locality have you discovered the tracks of
the muskrat? Describe its general appearance. Measure the muskrat's
track as follows: (a) Width and length of the print of one foot; (b) the
width between the prints of the two hind feet ; (c) the length between the
prints made by the hind feet in several successive steps or jumps.

2. Was the muskrat's track made when the animal was jumping or
walking? Can you see in it a difference in the size of the front and hind
feet? Judging from the track, where do you think the muskrat came
from? What do you think it was hunting for?

3. AVhat mark does the tail make in the snow or mud? Judging by
its imprint, should you think the muskrat's tail was long or short, bare or
brushy, slender or strong?

4. How long is the largest muskrat you ever saw? How much of the
whole length is tail? Is the general shape of the body short and heavy
or long and slender?

5. Describe the muskrat's eyes, ears and teeth. For what are the
teeth especially fitted? Has the muskrat whiskers like mice and rats?

6. Compare the front and hind legs as to size and shape. Is there a
web between the toes of the hind feet? What does this indicate? Do
you think that the muskrat is a good swimmer?

7. Describe the muskrat fur. Compare the outer and under coat.
What is its color above and below? What is the name of muskrat fur in
the shops?

8. Describe the tail. What is its covering? How is it flattened?
What do you think this strong, flattened tail is used for?

9. Do you think the muskrat is better fitted to live in the water than
on land ? How is it fitted to live in the water in the following particulars :
Feet? Tail? Fur?

10. How much of the muskrat can you see when it is swimming?
How long can it stay under water when diving?

11. What is the food of the muskrat? Where does it find it? How
does it prepare the food for eating? Does it seek its food during the night
or day? Have you ever observed the muskrat's dining room? If so,
describe it.

12. Describe the structure of the muskrat's winter lodge, or cabin,
in the following particulars : Its size. Where built ? Of what material ?
How many rooms in it? Are these rooms above or below the water level ?
Of what is the bed made? How is the nest ventilated? How is it
arranged so that the entrance is not closed by the ice? Is such a home
built by one or more muskrats? How many live within it? Do the
muskrats always build these winter cabins? What is the character of
the shores where they are built ?

Alammal Study

223

13. Describe the muskrat's burrow in the bank in the following
particulars: Is the entrance above or below water? Where and how is
the nest made? Is it ventilated? Does it have a back door leading out
upon the land?

14. What are the muskrat's enemies? How does it escape them?
How does it fight? Is it a courageous animal? How does the muskrat
give warning to its fellows when it perceives danger? At what time of
year is it comparatively safe? At what time is it exposed to greatest
danger?

15. Why is this animal called muskrat? Compare the habits of
muskrats with those of beaver and write an English theme upon the
similarity of the two.

16. At what time of year do you find the young muskrats? How
many in a litter ?

17. Read Farmers' Bulletin No. 396 of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture
and write an English theme on the destructive habits of muskrats and the
economic uses of these animals.

Supplementary reading — Familiar Wild Animals, Lottridge; Little
Beasts of Field and Wood, Cram; Squirrels and other Fur-bearers, Bur-
roughs; "The Builders" in Ways of Wood Folk, Long.

The white-footed, or deer, mouse.
Drawn by Anna Stryke.

224

Handbook of Nature-Study

The house mouse feeds tipon almost anything -which people like to eat.

THE HOUSE MOUSE
Teacher's Story

Somewhere in the darkness a clock strikes two;
And there is no sound in the sad old house,
Biit the lone, veranda dripping with dew,
And in the wainscot — a mouse. — Bret Harte.

ERE mouse-gray a less inconspicuous color, there
would be fewer mice; when a mouse is running
along the floor, it is hardly discernible, it looks so
like a flitting shadow; if it were black or white or
any other color, it would be more often seen and
destroyed. Undoubtedly, it is owing to the fact
that its soft fur has this shadowy color, that this
species has been able to spread over the world.
At first glance one wonders what possible use a mouse can make of a
tail which is as long as its body, but a little careful observation will
reveal the secret. The tail is covered with transverse ridges and is bare
save for sparse hairs, except toward the tip. Dr. Ida Reveley first called
my attention to the fact that the house mouse uses its tail in climbing. I
verified this interesting observation, ^and found that my mouse used the
tail for aid when climbing a string. He would go up the string, hand over
hand, like a sailor, then in trying to stretch to the edge of his jar, he
invariably wound his tail about the string two or three times, and hanging
to the string with the hind feet and tail, would reach far out with his head
and front feet. Also, when clinging to the edge of the cover of the jar, he
invariably used his tail as a brace against the side of the glass, so that it
pressed hard for more than half its length. Undoubtedly the tail is of
great service when climbing up the sides of walls.

Mamnial Stitdy

22i

The tail is also of some use, when the mouse jumps directly upwards.
The hind legs are very much longer and stronger than the front legs. The
hind feet are also much longer and larger than the front feet; and although
the mouse, when it makes its remarkable jumps, depends upon its strong
hind legs, I am sure that often the tail is used as a brace to guide and
assist the leap. The feet are free from hairs but are downy; the hind
foot has three front toes, a long toe behind on the outside and a short one
on the inside. The claws are fairly long and very sharp so that they are
able to cling to almost anything but glass. When exploring, a mouse
stands on its hind feet, folding its little front paws under its chin while it
reaches up ready to catch anything in sight; it can stretch up to an
amazing height. It feeds upon almost anything which people like to eat
and, when eating, holds its food in its front paws like a squirrel.

The thin, velvety ears are flaring cornucopias for taking in sound; the
large, rounded outer ear can be moved forward or back to test the direc-
tion of the noise. The eyes are Hke shining, black beads; and if a
mouse can wink, it does it so rapidly as not to be discernible. The nose
is long, inquisitive, and always sniffing for new impressions. The
whiskers are delicate and probably sensitive. The mouth is furnished
with two long, curved gnawing teeth at the front of each jaw, then a bare
space, and four grinding teeth on each side, above and below, like the
teeth of woodchucks and other rodents. The gnawing teeth are very
strong and enable the mouse to gnaw through board partitions and other
obstacles.

The energy with which the mouse cleans itself is inspiring to behold.
It nibbles its fur and licks it with fervor, reaching around so as to get at it
from behind, and tak-
ing hold with its little
hands to hold firm
while it cleans. When
washing its face and
head, it uses both
front feet, licking
them clean and rub-
bing them both simul-
taneously from behind
the ears down over
the face. It takes its
hind foot in both front
feet and nibbles and
licks it. It scratches
the back of its head
with its hind foot.

Young mice are
small, downy, pink
and blind when bom.
The mother makes for
them a nice, soft nest
of pieces of cloth,
paper, grass, or what-
ever is at hand ; the
nest is round like Young mice, blind, pink and hairless.

2 26 Handbook of N ature-Study

a ball and at its center is nestled the family. Mice living in houses,
have runways between the plaster and the outside, or between ceiling
and floor. In winter they live on what food they can find, and upon flies
or other insects hibernating in our houses. The house mice sometimes
live under stacks of corn or grain in the fields, but usually confine them-
selves to houses or banis. They are thirsty little fellows and they like to
make their nests within easy reach of water. Our house mice came from
ancestors which lived in Asia originally; they have always been great
travelers and they have followed men wherever they have gone, over the
world. They came to America on ships with the first explorers and the
Pilgrim fathers. They now travel back and forth, crossing the ocean in
ships of all sorts. They also travel across the continent on trains.
Wherever our food is carried they go; and the mouse, which you see in
your room one day, may be a thousand miles away within a week. They
are clever creatures, and learn quickly to connect cause and effect. For
two years, I was in an office in Washington, and as soon as the bell rang
for noon, the mice would appear instantly, htmting waste-baskets for
scraps of lunch. They had learned to connect the sound of the bell
with food.

Of all our wild mice, the white-footed or deer mouse is the most
interesting and attractive. It is found almost exclusively in woods and is
quite different in appearance from other mice. Its ears are very large;
its fur is fine and beautiful and a most delicate gray color. It is white
beneath the head and under the sides of the body. The feet are pinkish,
the front paws have short thumbs, while the hind feet are very much
longer and have a long thumb looking very much like an elfin hand in a
gray-white silk glove. On the bottom of the feet are callous spots which
are pink and serve as foot ^

pads. It makes its nest in f

hollow trees and stores nuts -*"" ——-■-—<—

for winter use. AVe once
found two quarts of shelled
beech nuts in such a nest. It
also likes the hips of the wild
rose and many kinds of ber-
ries; it sometimes makes its
summer home in a bird's nest,
which it roofs over to suit
itself. The young mice are
carried, hanging to the mother's breasts. As an inhabitant of summer
cottages,white-foot is cunning and mischievous ; it pulls cotton out of quilts
takes covers off of jars, and as an explorer, is equal to the squirrel. I once
tried to rear some young deer mice by feeding them warm milk with a
pipette; although their eyes were not open, they invariably washed their
faces after each meal, showing that neatness was bred m the bone. This
mouse has a musical voice and often chirps as sweetly as a bird. Like
the house mouse it is more active at night.

The meadow mouse is the one that makes its run-ways under the snow,
making strange corrugated patterns over the ground which attract our
attention in spring. It has a heavy body, short legs, short ears and short
tail. It is brownish or blackish in color. It sometimes digs burrows
straight into the ground, but more often makes its nest beneath sticks and

Track of white-footed mouse.
Notice tail-track.

Mammal Study

227

stones or stacks of com. It is the nest of this field mouse which the
bumblebee so often takes possession of, after it is deserted. The meadow
mouse is a good fighter, sitting up like a woodchuck and facing its enemy
bravely. It needs to be courageous, for it is preyed upon by almost every
creature that feeds upon small animals; the hawks and owls especially
are its enemies. It is well for the farmer that these mice have so many
enemies, for they multiply rapidly and would otherwise soon overrun and
destroy the grain fields. This mouse is an excellent swimmer.

A part of winter work, is to make the pupils familiar with the tracks
of the meadow mice and how to distinguish them from other tracks.

The bow trap.
Figure 4. trap.

Mouse traps.

1. A smooth splint or a peeled twig.

2. Splint bowed and tied at D.the bait inserted at C.

3. The inverted bowl balanced on splint bow.

Trapping Field Mice — Probably wild animals have endured more
cruelty through the agency of traps than through any other form of
human persecution . The savage steel traps often catch the animal by the
leg holding it until it gnaws off the imprisoned foot, and thus escapes
maimed and handicapped for its future struggle for food; or if the trap
gets a strong hold, the poor creature may suffer tortures during a long
period before the owner of the trap appears to put an end to its sufferings
by death If box traps are used, they are often neglected and the poor
creature imprisoned, is left to languish and starve. The teacher cannot
enforce too strongly upon the child the ethics of trapping. Impress
upon him that the box traps are far less cruel; but that if set, they must
be examined regularly and not neglected. The study of mice affords a
good opportunity for giving the children a lesson m humane trapping.
Let them set a figure 4 or a bowl trap, which they must examine
every morning, the little prisoners may be brought to school
and studied ; meanwhile, they should be treated kindly and fed bounti-
fully After a mouse has been studied, it should be set free, even though
it be one of the quite pestiferous field mice. The moral effect of killing an
animal, after a child has become thoroughly interested m it and its life,

is always bad. . « • 1 c 0

References— Claws and Hoofs, Johomot, American Animals Stone eV
Cram; Secrets of the Woods, Long; Wild Life, Ingersoll; l^amiliar ^\ ild
Animals, Lottridge.

2 28 Handbook of Nature-Study

LESSON LV
The House Mouse

Leading thought — The mouse is fitted by color, form, agility and habits
to thrive upon the food which it steals from man, and to live in the midst
of civilized people.

Method — A mouse cage can be easily made of wire window-screen
tacked upon a wooden frame. I have even used aquarium jars with wire
screen covers, and by placing one jar upon another, opening to opening,
and then laying them horizontal, the mouse can be transferred to a fresh
cage without trouble, and thus the mousey odor can be obviated, while
the little creature is being studied. A little water in a wide-necked bottle
can be lowered into this glass house by a string, and the food can be given
in like manner. Stripped paper should be put into the jar for the comfort
of the prisoner; a stiff string hanging down from the middle of the cage
will afford the prisoner a chance to show his feats as an acrobat.

Observations — i . Why is the color of the mouse of special benefit to it ?
Do you think it protects it from the sight of its enemies? Can you see a
mouse easily as it runs across the room? What is the nature of the fur of
a mouse?

2. How long is a mouse's tail as compared with its body? What is the
covering of the tail? Of what use to the mouse is this long, ridged tail?
Watch the mouse carefully and discover, if you can, the use of the tail in
climbing.

3. Is the mouse a good jumper? Are the hind legs long and strong
when compared with the front legs? How high do you think a mouse
can jump? Do you think it uses its tail as an aid in jumping? How
much of the legs are covered with hair? Compare the front and hind feet.
What sort of claws have they? How does the mouse use its feet when
climbing the string? How can it climb up the side of a wall?

4. Describe the eyes. Do you think the mouse can see very well?
Does it wink ? AVhat is the shape of the ears ? Do you think it can hear
well ? Can it move its ears forward or backward ?

5. What is the shape of the snout? Of what advantage is this?
Note the whiskers. What is their use? Describe the mouth. Do you
know how the teeth are arranged? For what other use than to bite food
does the mouse use its teeth? What other animals have their teeth
arranged like those of the mouse? What food does the house mouse live
upon? How does it get it?

6. How does the mouse act when it is reaching up to examine some-
thing? How does it hold its front feet? Describe how the mouse washes
its face. Its back. Its feet.

7. Where does the house mouse build its nest? Of what material?
How do the baby mice look? Can they see when they are first bom ?

8. House mice are great travelers. Can you tell how they manage
to get from place to place? Write a story telling all you know of their
habits.

9. How many kinds of mice do you know? Does the house mouse
ever live in the field ? What do you know of the habits of the white-footed
mouse? Of the meadow mice? Of the jumping mice?

T 1

-: ,r^p

|Md

L
'tk

!>-' ^flnH

t'^mtM

Mammal Study 229

THE WOODCHUCK

Teacher's Story

E who knows the ways of the woodchuck can
readily guess where it is hkely to be found;
it loves meadows and pastures where grass or
clover lushly grows. It is also fond of garden
truck and has a special delectation for melons.
The burrow is likely to be situated near a fence
or stone heap, which gives easy access to the
chosen food. The woodchuck makes its
burrow by digging the earth loose with its
front feet, and pushing it backward and out of
the entrance with the hind feet. This method
leaves the soil in a heap near the entrance, from which paths radiate into
the grass in all directions. If one undertakes to dig out a woodchuck, one
needs to be not only a husky individual, but something of an engineer;
the direction of the burrow extends downward for a little way, and then
rises at an easy angle, so that the inmate may be in no danger of flood.
The nest is merely an enlargement of the burrow, lined with soft grass,
which the woodchucks bring in in their mouths. During the early part
of the season, the father and mother and the litter of young may inhabit
the same burrow, although there are likely to be at least two separate
nests. There is usually more than one back door to the woodchuck's
dwelling, through which it may escape, if pressed too closely by enemies;
these back doors differ from the entrance, in that they are usually hidden
and have no earth heaped near them.

The woodchuck usually feeds in the morning and again in the evening,
and is likely to spend the middle of the day resting. It often goes some
distance from its burrow to feed, and at short intervals, lifts itself upon
its hind feet to see if the coast is clear; if assailed, it will seek to escape
by running to its burrow; and when running, it has a peculiar gait well
described as "pouring itself along." If it reaches its burrow, it at once
begins to dig deeply and throw the earth out behind it, thus making a
wall to keep out the enemy. When cornered, the woodchuck is a coura-
geous and fierce fighter; its sharp incisors prove a powerful weapon and it
will often whip a dog much larger than itself. Every boy knows how to
find whether the woodchuck is in its den or not, by rolling a stone into the
burrow, and listening; if the animal is at home, the sound of its digging
apprises the listener of the fact. In earlier times, the ground-hogs were
much preyed upon by wolves, wildcats and foxes; now, only the fox
remains and he is fast disappearing, so that at present, the farmer and his
dog are about the only enemies this burrower has to contend with. It is
an animal of resources and will climb a tree if attacked by a dog; it will
also climb trees for fruit, hke peaches. During the late summer, it is the
ground-hog's business to feed very constantly and become very fat.
About the first of October, it retires to its den and sleeps until the end of
March or April. During this dormant state, the beating of its heart is so
taint as to be scarcely perceptible, and very little nourishment is required
to keep it alive; this'nourishment is supplied by the fat stored inits body,
which it uses up by March, and comes out of its burrow in the spring, look-
ing gaunt and lean. The old saying that the ground-hog comes out on

230

Handbook of Nature-Study

Candlemas Day, and if it sees its shadow, goes back to sleep for six weeks
more, may savorof meteorological truth, but it is certainly not true of the

ground-hog.

The full-grown woodchuck ordinarily measures about two feet in
length. Its color is grizzly or brownish, sometimes blackish in places;
the under parts are reddish and the feet black. The fur is rather coarse,
thick and brown, with longer hairs which are grayish. The skin is very
thick and tough and seems to fit loosely, a condition which gives the
peculiar "pouring along" appearance when it is running. The hind legs
and feet are longer than those in front. Both pairs of feet are fitted for
digging, the front ones being used for loosening the earth and the hind
pair for kicking it out of the burrow.

The woodchuck's ears are roundish and not prominent, and by mus-
cular contraction they are closed when the animal is digging, so that no

soil can enter; the
sense of hearing is
acute. The teeth con-
sist of two large in-
cisors at the front of
each jaw, a bare space
and four grinders on
each side, above and
below; the incisors
are used for biting
food and also for fight-
ing. The eyes are full
and bright. The tail
is short and brushy,
and it with the hind
legs, form a tripod
which supports the
animal, as it sits with
its forefeet lifted.

When feeding, the
woodchuck often
makes a contented
grunting noise; when
attacked and fighting,
it growls; and when
feeling happy and con-
versational, it sits up
and whistles. I had a
woodchuck acquaint-
ance once which al-
ways gave a high,
shrill, almost birdlike
greeting. There are

Treed!
Photo by Verne Morton.

whistle when I came in view, a very jolly
plenty of statements in books that woodchucks are fond of music, and
Mr. Ingersoll states that at Wellesley College a woodchuck on the chapel
lawn was wont to join the morning song exercises with a "clear soprano."
The young woodchucks are bom about the first of May and the litter
usually numbers four or five. In June the "chucklings" may be seen
following the mother in the field with much babyish grunting. If

Mammal Study 231

captured at this period, they make every interesting pets. By August or
September the young woodchucks leave the home burrow and start
burrows of their own.

References — Wild Animals, Stone & Cram; Wild Neighbors, Inger-
soll; Squirrels and Other Fur Bearers, Burroughs; Familiar Wild Ani-
mals, Lottridge.

LESSON LVI

The Woodchuck or Grouxd-Hog

Leading thought — The woodchuck has thriven with civilization, not-
withstanding the farmer's dog, gun, traps and poison. It makes its nest
in a burrow in the earth and lives upon vegetation; it hibernates in
winter.

Method — Within convenient distance for observation by the pupils of
every country schoolhouse and of most village schoolhouses, maybe
found a woodchuck and its dwelling. The pupils should be given the
outline for observations which should be made individually through
watching the woodchuck for weeks or months.

Observations — i. Where is the woodchuck found? On what does it
live? At what time of day does it feed ? How does it act when startled?

2. Is the woodchuck a good fighter? With what weapons does it
fight? What are its enemies? How does it escape its enemies when in or
out of its burrow? How does it look when running?

3. What noises does the woodchuck make and what do they mean?
Play a "mouth-organ" near the woodchuck's burrow and note if it likes
music.

4. How does the woodchuck make its burrow? Where is it likely
to be situated ? Where is the earth placed which is taken from the bur-
row? How does the woodchuck bring it out? How is the burrow made
so that the woodchuck is not drowned in case of heavy rains? In what
direction do the underground galleries go? Where is the nest placed in
relation to the galleries ? Of what is the nest made ? How is the bedding
carried in? Of what special use is the nest?

5. Do you find paths leading to the entrances of the burrow? If so,
describe them. How can you tell whether a woodchuck is at home or not
if you do not see it enter? Where is the woodchuck likely to station itself
when it sits up to look for intruders ?

6. How many woodchucks inhabit the same burrow? Are there
likely to be one or more back doors to the burrow? What for? How do
the back doors differ from the front doors?

7. How long is the longest woodchuck that you have ever seen?
What is the woodchuck's color? Is its fur long or short? Coarse or fine?
Thick or sparse ? Is the skin thick or thin ? Does it seem loose or close
fitting?

8. Compare the front and hind feet and describe difference in size and
shape. Are either or both slightly webbed ? Explain how both front and
hind feet and legs are adapted by their shape to help the woodchuck. Is
the tail long or short? How does it assist the animal in sitting up?

g. What is the shape of the woodchuck's ear? Can it hear well?
Why are the ears not filled with soil when the animal is burrowing? Of
what use are the long incisors? Describe the eyes.

2-7 2 Handbook of Nature-Study

10. How does the woodchuck prepare for winter? Where and how
does it pass the winter? Did you ever know a woodchuck to come out on
Candlemas Day to look for its shadow?

11. AYhen does the woodchuck appear in the spring? Compare its
general appearance in the fall and in the spring and explain the reason for

the difference.

12. When are the young woodchucks bom ? What do you know of

the way the mother woodchuck cares for her young?

As I turned round the corner of Httbbard's Grove, saw a woodchuck, the first of
the season, in the middle of the field six or seven rods from the fence which bounds the
wood, and twenty rods distant. I ran along the fence and cut him off, or rather overtook
him, 'though he started at the same time. When I was only a rod^ and a half off, he
stopped, and I did the same; then he ran again, and I ran up within three feet of him,
when he stopped again, the fence being between us. I squatted down and surveyed him
at my leisure. His eyes were dull black and rather inobvious, with a faint chestnut
iris with but little expression and that more of resignation than of anger. The general
aspect was a coarse grayish brown, a sort of grisel. A lighter brown next the skm, then
black or very dark brown and tipped with whitish rather loosely. The head between a
squirrel and a bear, fat on the top and dark brown, and darker still or black on the tip
of the nose. The whiskers black, two inches long. The ears very small and roundish,
set far back and nearly buried in the fur. Black feet, with long and slender claws for
digging. It appeared to tremble, or perchance shivered with cold. When I moved, it
gritted its teeth quite loud, sometimes striking the under jaw against the other chatter-
ingly sometimes grinding one jaw on the other, yet as if more from instinct than anger.
Whichever way I turned, that way it headed. I took a twig a foot long and touched its
snout at which it started forward and bit the stick, lessening the distance between us to
two feet and still it held all the ground it gained. I played with it tenderly awhile with
the stick, trying to open its gritti)ig jaivs. Ever its long incisors, tivo above and two
below were presented. But I thought it would go to sleep if I stayed long enough. _ It
did not sit upright as sometimes, but standing on its fore feet with its head down,i.. e.,
half sitting, half standing. We sat looking at one another about half an hour, till we
began to feel mesmeric influences. When I was tired, I moved away, wishing to see
him run but I could not start him. He woidd not stir as long as I was looking at him
or could see him. I walked around him; he turned as fast and fronted me still. I sat
down by his side within a foot. I talked to him quasi forest lingo, baby-talk, at any rate
in a concilatory tone, and thought that I had some influence on him. He gritted his
teeth less. I chewed checkerbcrrv leaves and presented them to his nose at last without
a grit ■ though I saiu that by so much gritting of the teeth he had worn them rapidly and
they were covered with a fine white powder, which, if you measured it thus, would have
made his anger terrible. He did not mind any noise I might make. With a little
stick I lifted one of his paws to examine it, and held it up at pleasure. I turned him
over to '^ee what color he was beneath {darker or most pusely brown), though he turned
himself back again sooner than I could have wished. His tail was also brown, though
not very dark rat-tail like, with loose hairs standing out on all sides like a caterpillar
brush He had a rather mild look. I spoke kindly to him. I reached checkerberry
leaves to his mouth. I stretched niv hands over him, though he turned up his^ head and
still gritted a little. I laid my hand on him, but immediately took it off again, instinct
not being wliully overcome. If I had had a few fresh bean leaves, thus in advance of
the season I am sure I should have tamed him completely. It was a frizzly tail. His
is a humble, terrestrial color like the partridge's, well concealed where dead wiry grass
rises above darker brown or chestnut dead leaves — a modest color. If I had had some
food I shoidd have ended with stroking him at my leisure. Could easily have wrapped
him 'in my handkcrch icf. He was not fat nor particularly lean. I finally had to leave
him without seeing him move from the place. A large, clumsy, burrowing squirrel.
Arctomys, bear-mouse. I respect him as one of the natives. He lies there, oy his color
and habit's ro naturalized amid the dry leaves, the withered grass, and the bushas. _ A
sound nap, too, he has enjoyed in his native fields, the past ivinter. I think I niight
learn some -wisdom of him. His ancestors have lived here longer than mine. He is
more thoroughly acclimated and naturalized than I. Bean leaves the red man raised
for him, but he can do without them. — Thoreau's Journal.

Mammal Study

^ZZ

THE RED SQUIRREL OR CHICKAREE

Teacher's Story

Just a tawny glimmer, a dash of red and gray,

Was it a flitting shadow, or a sunbeam gone astray/

It glances up a tree trunk, and a pair of bright eyes glow

Where a little spy in am.bush is measuring his foe.

I hear a mocking chuckle, then wrathful, lie grows bold

And stays his pressing business to scold and scold and scold.

E ought to yield admiring tribute to those animals which
have been able to flourish in our midst despite man and
his gun, this weapon being the most cowardly and
unfair invention of the human mind. The only time
that man has been a fair fighter, in combating his four-
footed brethren, was when he fought them with a
weapon which he wielded in his hand. There is noth-
ing in animal comprehension which can take into
account a projectile, and much less a shot from a gun; but though it does
not understand, it experiences a deathly fear at the noise. It is pathetic
to note the hush in a forest that follows the sound of a gun; every song,
every voice, every movement is stilled and every little heart filled with
nameless terror. How any man or boy can feel manly when, with this
scientific instrument of death in his hands, he takes the life of a little
squirrel, bird or rabbit, is beyond my comprehension. In pioneer days
when it was a fight for existence, man against the wilderness, the matter
was quite different; but now it seems to me that anyone who hunts what
few wild creatures we have left, and which are in nowise injurious, is,
whatever he may think of himself, no believer in fair play.

Within my own memory, the beautiful black squirrel was as common
in our woods as was his red cousin ; the shot-gun has exterminated this
splendid species. Well may we rejoice that the red squirrel has, through
its lesser size and greater cunning, escaped a like fate; and that pug-
nacious and companionable and shy, it lives in our midst and climbs our
very roofs to sit there and scold us for coming within its range of vision.

M^^-

234

Hafidbook of Nature-Study

It has succeeded not only in living despite of man, but because of man, for
it rifles our grain bins and corn cribs and waxes opulent by levying tribute
upon our stores.

Thoreau describes most graphically the movements of this squirrel.
He says: "All day long the red squirrels came and went. One would
approach at first warily, warily, through the shrub-oaks, running over the
snow crust by fits and starts and like a leaf blown by the wind, now a few
paces this way, with wonderful speed and waste of energy, making incon-
ceivable haste with his "trotters," as if it were for a wager, and now as
many paces that way, but never getting on more than half a rod at a
time; and then suddenly pausing with a ludicrous expression and a
gratuitous somersault, as if all the eyes of the universe were fixed on him,
* * * and then suddenly, before you could say Jack Robinson he
would be in the top of a young pitch pine, winding up his clock, and
chiding all imaginary spectators, soliloquizing and talking to all the
universe at the same time."

It is surely one of the most comical of sights to see a squirrel stop
running and take observations; he lifts himself on his haunches, and with
body bent forward, presses his Httle paws against his breast as if to say,
"Be still, oh my beating heart!" which is all pure affectation because he
knows he can scurry away in perfect safety. He is likely to take refuge
on the far side of a tree, peeping out from this side and that, and whisking
back like a flash as he catches our eye ; we might never know he was there
except as Riley puts it, "he lets his own tail tell on him." When climbing
up or down a tree, he goes head first and spreads his legs apart to clasp as
much of the trunk as possible; meanwhile his sharp little claws cling

securely to the bark.
He can climb out on
the smallest twigs
quite as well, when
he needs to do so, in
passing from tree to
tree or when gather-
ing acorns.

A squirrel always
establishes certain
roads to and from
h i s abiding place
and almost invar-
iably follows them.
Such a path may be
entirely in the tree-
tops, with airbridges
from a certain
branch of one tree
to a certain branch
of another, or it may
be partially on the
ground between
trees. I have made
notes of these paths
Red squirrel or Chickaree. in the vicinity of

'■jF-f^-?-: '-■y^-y^'^-^

:.-... ^J'i' ^"^-g!?- .•"'■^•^*

Mammal Study 235

my own home, and have noted that if a squirrel leaves them for ex-
ploring, he goes warily; while, when following them, he is quite reckless
in his haste. When making a jump from tree to tree, he flattens himself
as widely as possible and his tail is held somewhat curved, but on a
level with the body, as if its wide brush helped to buoy him up
and perhaps to steer him also.

During the winter the chickaree is quite dingy in color and is an
inconspicuous object, especially when he "humps himself up" so
that he resembles a knot on a limb ; but with the coming of spring,
he dons a brighter coat of tawny-red and along his sides, where
the red meets the grayish white of the under side, there is a
dark line which is very ornamental; and now his tail is a shower
of ruddiness. As the season advances, the colors seem to fade;
they are probably a part of his wooing costume. When dashing up a tree
trunk, his color is never very striking but looks like the glimmer of sun-
light; this has probably saved many of his kind from the gunner, whose
eyes being at the front of his head, cannot compare in efficiency with
those of the squirrel, which being large and full and alert, are placed at
the sides of the head so as to see equally well in all directions.

The squirrel's legs are short because he is essentially a climber rather
than a runner; the hips are very strong which insures his power as a
jumper and his leaps are truly remarkable. A squirrel uses his front
paws for hands in a most human way; with them he washes his face and
holds his food up to his mouth while eating, and it is interesting to note
the skill of his claws when used as fingers. The track he makes in the
snow is quite characteristic. The tracks are paired and those of the large
five-toed hind feet are always in front.

Squirrel tracks.

The squirrel has two pairs of gnawing teeth which are very long and
strong, as in all rodents, and he needs to keep busy gnawing hard things
with them, or they will grow so long that he cannot use them at all and
will starve to death. He is very clever about opening nuts so as to get all
the meats. He often opens a hickory nut with two holes which tap the
places of the nut meats squarely; with walnuts or butternuts, which have
much harder shells, he makes four small holes, one opposite each quarter
of the kernel. He has no cheek-pouches like a chipmunk but he can carry
corn and other grain. He often fills his mouth so full that his cheeks
bulge out like those of a boy eating pop-corn; but anything as large as a
nut he carries in his teeth. His food is far more varied than many sup-
pose and he will eat almost an^rthing eatable; he is a little pirate and
enjoys stealing from others with keenest zest. In spring, he eats leaf
buds and hunts our orchards for apple seeds. In winter, he feeds on nuts
and cones; it is marvelous how he will take a cone apart, tearing off the
scales and leaving them in a heap while searching for seeds; he is espec-
ially fond of the seeds of Norway spruce and hemlock. Of course, he is
fond of nuts of all kinds and will cut the chestnut burs from the tree
before they are ripe, so that he may get ahead of the other harvesters.
He stores his food for winter in all sorts of odd places and often forgets

236 Handbook of Nature-Stiidy

where he puts it. We often find his winter stores untouched the next
summer. He also likes birds' eggs and nestlings, and if it were not for
the chastisement he gets from the parent robins, he would work much
damage in this way.

The squirrel is likely to be a luxurious fellow and have a winter and a
summer home. The former is in some hollow tree or other protected
place ; the summer home consists of a platform of twigs in some tree-top,
often built upon an abandoned 'crow or hawk nest; but just how he uses
these two homes, is as yet, a matter of guessing and is a good subject for
young naturalists to investigate. During the winter, he does not remain
at home except in coldest weather, when he lies cozily with his tail
wrapped around him like a boa to keep him warm. He is too full of
interest in the world to lie quietly long, but comes out, hunts up some of
his stores, and finds life worth while despite the cold. One squirrel
adopted a bird house in one of our trees, and he or his kin have lived there
for years; in winter, h-e takes his share of the suet put on the trees for
birds, and because of his greediness, we have been compelled to use picture
wire for tying on the suet.

The young are born in a protected nest, usually in the hollow of a tree.
There are four to six young in a litter and they appear in April. If
necessary to move the young, the mother carries the squirrel baby cling-
ing to her breast with its arms around her neck.

The squirrel has several ways of expressing his emotions; one is by
various curves in his long beautiful, bushy tail. If the creatures of the
wood had a stage, the squirrel would have to be their chief actor. Sur-
prise, incredulousness, indignation, fear, anger and joy are all perfectly
expressed by tail gestures and also by voice. As a vocalist he excels; he
chatters with curiosity, "chips" with surprise, scolds by giving a gutteral
trill, finishing with a falsetto squeal. He is the only singer I know who
can carry two parts at a time. Notice him sometimes in the top of a
hickory or chestnut tree when nuts are ripe, and you will hear him singing
a duet all by himself, a high shrill chatter with a chuckling accompani-
ment. Long may he abide with us as an uninvited guest at our cribs!
For, though he be a freebooter and conscienceless, yet our world would
lack its highest example of incarnate grace and activity, if he were not
in it.

LESSON LVII
The Red Squirrel or Chickaree

Leading thought — The red squirrel by its agility and cleverness has
lived on, despite its worst enemy — man. By form and color and activity
it is fitted to elude the htmter.

Method — If a pet squirrel in a cage can be procured for observation at
the school, the observations on the form and habits of the animal can be
best studied thus; but a squirrel in a cage is an anomaly and it is far
better to stimulate the pupils to observe the squirrels out of doors. Give
the following questions, a few at a time, and ask the pupils to report the
answers to the entire class. Much should be done with the supplemen-
tary reading, as there are many interesting squirrel stories illustrating its
habits.

Mammal Study 237

Observations — i. Where have you seen a squirrel ? Does the squirrel
trot along or leap when running on the ground? Does it run straight
ahead or stop at intervals for observation? How does it look? How
does it act when looking to see if the "coast is clear"?

2. When climbing a tree, does it go straight up, or move around the
trunk? How does it hide itself behind a tree trunk and observe the
passer-by? Describe how it manages to climb a tree? Does it go down
the tree head first ? Is it able to climb out on the smallest branches ? Of
what advantage is this to it?

3. Look closely and see if a squirrel follows the same route always
when passing from one point to another. How does it pass from tree to
tree? How does it act when preparing to jump? Hew does it hold its
legs and tail when in the air during a jump from branch to branch?

4. Describe the colors of the red squirrel above and below. Is there a
dark stripe along its side, if so, what color? How does the color of the
squirrel protect it from its enemies? Is its color brighter in summer or in

winter ?

5. How are the squirrel's eyes placed? Do 3-ou think it can see
behind as well as in front all the time? Are its eyes bright and alert, or
soft and tender?

6. Are its legs long or short? Are its hind legs stronger and longer
than the front legs? Why? Why does it not need long legs? _ Does its
paws have claws? How does it use its paws when eating and in making

its toilet?

7. Describe the squirrel's tail. Is it as long as the body? Is it
used to express emotion ? Of what use is it when the squirrel is jumping?
Of what use is it in the winter in the nest ?

8. What is the food of the squirrel during the autumn? Winter?
Spring? vSummer? Where does it store food for the winter? Does it
steal foo.l laid up by jays, chipmunks, mice or other squirrels ? How does
it carry nuts ? Has it cheek-pouches Hke the chipmunk for carrying food ?
Does it stay in its nest all winter living on stored food like a chipmunk?

9. Where does the red squirrel make its winter home? Does it also
have a summer home, if so, of what is it made and where built? In what
sort of a nest are the young bom and reared? At what time of the year
are the young bom ? How does the mother squirrel carry her little ones

if she wishes to move them ?

10. How much of squirrel language can you understand? How does
it express surprise, excitement, anger, or joy during the nut harvest?
Note how many different sounds it makes and tr>- to discover what they

mean.

1 1 . Describe or sketch the tracks made by the squirrel m the snow.

12. How does the squirrel get at the meats of the hickory nut and the
walnut? How are its teeth arranged to gnaw holes in such hard sub-
stances as shells?

Supplementary reading — Squirrels and Other Fur Bearers, John
Burroughs; American Animals, Stone & Cram; Secrets of the Woods,
Long; Familiar Life in Field and Forest, Mathews; Little Beasts of Field
and Wood; Cram; Wild Neighbors, Ingersoll; Familiar Wild Animals,
Lottridge.

238 Hafidhook of N ature-Stiidy

FURRY

"URRY was a baby red squirrel. One day
in Ma)' his mother was moving him from
one tree to another. He was chnging
with his Httle arms around her neck and
his body clasped tightly against her breast,
when something frightened her and in her
sudden movement, she dropped her heavy
baby in the grass. Thus, I inherited him
and entered upon the rather onerous
duties of caring for a baby of whose needs I knew little; but I knew that
every well cared for baby should have a book detailing all that happens to
it, therefore, I made a book for Furry, writing in it each day the things
he did. If the children who have pets keep similar books, they will find
them most interesting reading afterward, and they will surely enjoy
the writing very much.

Extracts from Furry s Note-hook

May 18, 1902 — The baby squirrel is just large enough to cuddle in one
hand. He cuddles all right when once he is captured; but he is a terrible
fighter, and when I attempt to take him in my hand, he scrtaches and
bites and growls so that I have been obliged to name him Fury. I told
him, however, if he improved in temper I would change his name to Furry.

May 19 — Fury greets me, when I open his box, with the most awe-
inspiring little growls, which he calculates will make me turn pale with
fear. He has not cut his teeth yet, so he cannot bite very severely, but
that isn't his fault, for he tries hard enough. The Naturalist said cold
milk would kill him, so I warmed the milk and put it in a teaspoon and
placed it in front of his nose; he batted the spoon with both forepaws
and tried to bite it, and thus got a taste of the milk, which he drank eagerly
lapping it up like a kitten. When I hold him in one hand and cover him
with the other, he turns contented little somersaults over and over.

May 20 — Fury bit me only once to-day, when I took him out to feed
him. He is cutting his teeth on my devoted fingers. I tried giving him
grape-nuts soaked in milk, but he spat it out in disgust. Evidently he
does not believe he needs a food for brain and nerve. He always washes
his face as soon as he is through eating.

May 21 — Fury lies curled up under his blanket all day. Evidently
good little squirrels stay quietly in the nest, when the mother is not at
home to give them permission to run around. When Fury sleeps, he rolls
himself up in a little ball with his tail wrapped closely around him. The
squirrel's tail is his "furs," which he wraps around him to keep his back
warm when he sleeps in winter.

May 23 — Every time I meet Uncle John he asks, "Is his name Fury or
Furry now?" Uncle John is much interested in the good behavior of even
little squirrels. As Fury has not bitten me hard for two days, I think I
will call him Furry after this. He ate some bread soaked in milk to-day,
holding it in his hands in real squirrel fashion. I let him run around the
room and he liked it.

May 25 — Furry got away from me this morning and I did not find him
for an hour. Then I discovered him in a pasteboard box of drawing
paper with the cover on. How did he squeeze through?

Mammal Study 230

May 26 — He holds the bowl of the spoon with both front paws while
he drinks the milk. When I try to draw the spoon away, to fill it again
after he has emptied it, he objects and hangs on to it with all his Httle
might, and scolds as hard as ever he can. He is such a funny, unreason-
able baby.

May 28 — To-night I gave Furry a walnut meat. As soon as he smelled
it he became greatly excited; he grasped the meat in his hands and ran off
and hid under my elbow, growling like a kitten with its first mouse.

May 30 — Since he tasted nuts he has lost interest in milk. The nut
meats are too hard for his new teeth, so I mash them and soak them in
water and now he eats them like a little piggy- wig with no manners at all.
He loves to have me stroke his back while he is eating. He uses his
thumbs and fingers in such a human way that I always call his front paws
hands. When his piece of nut is very small he holds it in one hand and
clasps the other hand behind the one which holds the dainty morsel, so as
to keep it safe.

May 3 1 — When he is sleepy he scolds if I disturb him and turning over
on his back bats my hand with all of his soft little paws and pretends that
he is going to bite.

June 4 — Furry ranges around the room now to please himself. He is a
little mischief; he tips over his cup of milk and has commenced gnawing
off the wall paper behind the book-shelf to make him a nest. The paper is
green and will probably make him sorry.

June 5 — This morning Furry was hidden in a roll of paper. I put my
hand over one end of the roll and then reached in with the other hand to
get him; but he got me instead, because he ran up my sleeve and was
much more contented to be there than I was to have him. I was glad
enough when he left his hiding place and climbed to the top shelf of the
bookcase, far beyond my reach.

June 6 — I have not seen Furry for twenty-four hours, but he is here
surely enough. Last night he tipped over the ink bottle and scattered
nut shells over the floor. He prefers pecans to any other nuts.

June 7 — I caught Furry to-day and he bit my finger so it bled. But
afterwards, he cuddled in my hand for a long time, and then climbed my
shoulder and went hunting around in my hair and wanted to stay there
and make a nest. When I took him away, he pulled out his two hands
full of my devoted tresses. I'll not employ him as a hairdresser.

June 9 — Furry sleeps nights in the top drawer of my desk; he crawls
in from behind. When I pull out the drawer he pops out and scares me
nearly out of my wits; but he keeps his wits about him and gets away
before I can catch him.

June 20 — I keep the window open so Furry can run out and in and
learn to take care of himself out-of-doors.

Furry soon learned to take care of himself, though he often returned
for nuts, which I kept for him in a bowl. He does not come very near me
out-of-doors, but he often speaks to me in a friendly manner from a cer-
tain pitch pine tree near the house.

There are many blank leaves in Furry's note-book. I wish that he
could have written on these of the things that he thought about me and
my performances. It would certainly have been the most interesting
book concerning squirrels in the world.

240

Handbook of N ature-Study

THE CHIPMUNK

Teacher's Story

HILE the chipmunk is a good runner and jumper,
it is not so able a chmber as is the red squirrel,
and it naturally stays nearer the ground.
One windy day I was struck by the peculiar
attitude of what, I first thought, was a red
squirrel gathering green acorns from a chestnut
oak in front of my window. A second glance
showed me that it was a chipmunk lying
close to the branch, hanging on for "dear life
and with an attitude of extreme caution, quite
foreign to the red squirrel in a similar situation. He would creep out,
seize an acorn in its teeth, creep back to a larger limb, take off the shell,
and with his little paws stuff the kernel into his cheek pouches; he took
hold of one side of his mouth with one hand to stretch it out, as if open-
ing a bag, and stuffed the acorn in with the other. I do not know
whether this process was necessary or not at the beginning, for his cheeks
were distended when I first saw him ; and he kept on stuffing them until
he looked as if he had a hopeless case of mumps. Then with obvious
care he descended the tree and retreated to his den in the side hill, the
door of which I had already discovered, although it was well hidden by
a bunch of orchard grass.

Chipmunks are more easily tamed than red squirrels and soon learn
that pockets may contain nuts and other things good to eat. The first
tame chipmunk of my acquaintance belonged to a species found in the
California mountains. He was a beautiful little creature and loved to
play about his mistress' room; she being
a naturalist as well as a poet, was able
to understand her little companion, and
the relations between them were full of
mutual confidence. He was fond of
English walnuts and would always hide
away all that were placed in a dish on
the table. One day his mistress, when
taking off her bonnet after returning
from church, discovered several of these
nuts tucked safely in the velvet bows;
they were invisible from the front but
perfectly visible from the side. Even
yet, she wonders what the people at
church that day thought of her original
ideas in millinery; and she wonders
still more how "Chipsie" managed to
get into the bonnet-box, the cover of
which was always carefully closed.

The chipmunk is a good home builder
and carries off, presumably in its cheek
pouches, all of the soil which it removes

in making its burrow. The burrow is "Chipsie", a chipmunk of

made usually in a dry hillside, the the Sierras.

Mammal Study 241

passageway just large enough for its own body, widening to a nest
which is well bedded down. There is usually a back door also, so that
in case of necessity, the inmate can escape. It retires to this nest in
late November and does not appear again until March. In the nest,
it stores nuts and other grains so that when it wakens, at long inter-
vals, it can take refreshment.

If you really wish to know whether you see what you look at or not,
test yourself by trying to describe the length, position and number of
the chipmunk's stripes. These stripes, like those of the tiger in the
jungle, make the creature less conspicuous; when on the ground,
where its stripes fall in with the general shape and color of the grass
and underbrush, it is quite invisible until it stirs. Its tail is not so
long nor nearly so bushy as that of the squirrel; it does not need a tail
to balance and steer with in the tree tops; and since it lives in the
ground, a bushy tail would soon be loaded with earth and would be an
incubus instead of a thing of beauty.

The chipmunk is not a vocalist like the red squirrel, but he can cluck
like a cuckoo and chatter gayly or cogently ; and he can make himself into a
little bunch with his tail curved up his back, while he eats a nut from both
his hands, and is even more amusing than the red squirrel in this attitude;
probably because he is more innocent and not so much of a poseur. His
food consists of all kinds of nuts, grain and fruit, but he does little or no
damage, as a rule. He is pretty and distinctly companionable, and I
can rejoice, in that I have had him and his whole family as my near
neighbors for many years. I always feel especially proud when he shows
his confidence, by scampering around our piazza floor and peeping in at
our windows, as if taking a reciprocal interest in us.

LESSON LVIII

The Chipmunk

Leading thougJit — The chipmunk lives more on the ground than does
the squirrel; its colors are protective and it has cheek pouches in which
it carries food, and also soil when digging its burrow. It stores food for
winter in its den.

Method — The field note-book should be the basis for this work.
Give the pupils an outline of observations to be made, and ask for reports
now and then. Meanwhile stimulate interest in the little creatures by
reading aloud from some of the references given.

Observations — i. Do you see the chipmunk climbing around in trees
like the red squirrel ? How high in a tree have you ever seen a chipmunk ?

2. What are the chipmunk's colors above and below? How many
stripes has it? Where are they and what are their colors? Do you
think that these stripes conceal the animal when among grasses and
bushes?

3. Compare the tails of the chipmunk and the red squirrel. Which
is the longer and bushier? Tell if you can the special advantage to the
chipmunk in having this less bushy tail?

4. W^hat does the chipmunk eat ? How does it carry its food ? How
does it differ in this respect from the red squirrel? Does it store its food
for winter use? How does it prepare its nuts? How does it hold its food
while eating?

242

Handbook of Nature-Study

5. Where does the chipmunk make its home? How does it carry
away soil from its burrow? How many entrances are there? How is
the den arranged inside? Does it hve in the same den the year round?
When does it retire to its den in the fall? When does it come out in the

sprm*^ ?

6." Does the chipmunk do any damage to crops? What seeds does it
distribute? At what time do the little chipmunks appear in the spring?

7. Observe carefully the different tones of the chipmunk and com-
pare its chattering with that of the squirrel.

Supplementary reading — Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers, John
Burroughs; American Animals, Stone and Cram.

Photo by Verne Morton
TJic Eastern Chipmunk.

TO A CAPTIVE CHIPMUNK OF THE SIERRAS

Bright little comrade from the ivoods, come show
Thy antic cJicer about my sunlit room
Of books, that stand in moods of gloom
Because thought's tide is out, heart's rhythm is low
With weariness. Friendly thou art and know
Good friend in me, ivho yet did dare presume
To take thee from thy home, thy little doom
To make for thee, and longer life bestow.
So, thou hast not been eaten by the snake;
Thy gentle blood no weasel drank at night;
Thou hast not starved 'mid winter's frozen wood.
Nor waited vainly for the sun to make
Sweet the wild nuts for thee. Yet, little sprite,
Thou still doth question if my deed were good?

— Irene Hardy.

Mammal Stiidy 243

THE LITTLE BROWN BAT

Teacher's Story

His small umbrella, quaintly halved,
Describing in the air an arc alike inscrutable, —
Elate philosopher! — Emily Dickenson.

^HOEVER first said "as blind as a bat," surely never
looked a bat in the face, or he would not have
said it. The deep-set, keen, observant eyes are
quite in keeping with the alert attitude of the
_ - _ erect, pointed ears; while the pug-nose and the
wide open, little, pink bag of a mouth, set with tiny, sharp teeth, give
this anomalous little animal a deliciously impish look. Yet how have
those old artists behed the bat, who fashioned their demons after his
pattern, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, wings and all! Certain it is, if human
beings ever get to be winged angels in this world, they are far more likely
to have their wings fashioned like those of the bat than like those of the
bird. As a matter of fact, there are no other wings so wonderful as the
bat's; the thin membrane is equipped with sensitive nerves which
inform the flier of the objects in his path, so that he darts among the
branches of trees at terrific speed and never touches a twig; a blinded bat
was once set free in a room, across which threads were stretched, and
he flew about without ever touching one. After we have tamed one of
these little, silky flitter-mice we soon get reconciled to his wings for he
proves the cunningest of pets; he soon learns who feeds him, and is a
constant source of entertainment.

The flight of the bat is the highest ideal we may have, for the achieve-
ment of the aeroplane. It consists of darting hither and thither with
incredible swiftness, and making sharp turns with no apparent effort.
Swifts and swallows are the only birds that can compete with the bat in
wing celerity and agility; it is interesting to note that these birds also
catch insects on the wing, for food. The bat, like the swift, keeps his
mouth open, scooping in all the insects in his way; more than this, he
makes a collecting net of the wing membrane, stretched between the hind
legs and tail, doubling it up like an apron on the unfortunate insects, and
then reaching down and gobbling them up; and thus he is always doing
good service to us on summer evenings by swallowing mosquitoes and
gnats.

The short fur of the bat is as soft as silk, and covers the body but not
the wings; the plan of the wing is something like that of the duck's foot;
it consists of a web stretched between very much elongated fingers. If a
boy's fingers were as long in proportion, as a bat's, they would measure
four feet. Stretched between the long fingers is a thin, rubbery mem-
brane, which extends back to the ankles and thence back to the tip of the
bony tail; thus, the bat has a winged margin all around his body. Since
fingers make the framework, it is the thumb that projects from the front
angle of the wing, in the form of a very serviceable hook, resembling that
used by a one-armed man to replace the lost member. These hooks the
bat uses in many ways. He drags himself along the floor with their aid,
or he scratches the back of his head with them, if occasion requires. He
is essentially a creature of the air and is not at all fitted for walking; his

244

Handbook of Nature-Study

knees bend backward in an opposite direction from ours. This renders
him unable to walk, and when attempting to do so, he has the appearance
of "scrabbUng" along on his feet and elbows. When thus moving he
keeps his wings fluttering rapidly, as if feeling his way in the dark, and
his movements are as trembly as those of a palsied old man.

The little brown bat's wings often measure nine inches from tip to tip,
and yet he folds them so that they scarcely show, he does not fold them
hke a fan, but rather like a pocket knife. The hind legs merely act as a
support for the side wing, and the little hip bones look pitifully sharp,
the membrane reaches only to the ankle, the tiny emaciated foot pro-
jecting from it is armed with five, wirehke toes, tipped with sharp hooked
claws.'' It is by these claws that he hangs when resting during the day,
for he is upside-down-y in his sleeping habits, slumbering during the day-
time, while hanging head downward, without any inconvenience from a
rush'of blood to the brain; when thus suspended, the tail is folded down.
Sometimes he hangs by one hind foot and a front hook, and he is a wee
thing when all folded together and hung up, with his nose tucked between
his h'ooked thumbs, in a very babyish fashion.

The bat is very particular about his personal cleanliness. People who
regard the bat as a dirty creature, had better look to it that they are even
half as fastidious as he. He washes his face with the front part of his
wing, and then licks his wash-cloth clean, he scratches the back of his
head'with his hind foot and then Hcks the foot, when hanging head down,
he will reach one hind foot down and scratch behind his ear with an
aplomb truly comical in such a mite; but it is most fun of all to see him
clean his wings ; he seizes the edges in his mouth and stretches and licks
the membrane until we are sure it is made of silk elastic, for he pulls and
hauls it in a way truly amazing.

The bat has a voice which sounds like the squeak of a toy wheelbarrow,
and yet it is expressive of emotions. He squeaks in one tone when holding
conversation with other bats, and squeaks quite differently when seized
by the enemy.

The mother bat feeds her httle ones from her breasts as a mouse does
its young, only she cradles them in her soft wings while so doing; often
she takes them with her when she goes out for insects in the evenings;
they cling to her neck during these exciting rides; but when she wishes to
work unencumbered, she hangs her tiny youngsters on some twig and
goes back to them later. The little ones are bom in July and usually
occur as twins. During the winter, bats hibernate hke woodchucks or
chipmunks. They select for winter quarters some hollow tree or cave or
other protected place. They go to sleep when the cold weather comes,
and do not awake until the insects are flying; they then come forth m the
evenings, or perhaps early in the morning, and do their best to rid the
world of 'mosquitoes and other insect nuisances.

There are many senseless fears about the bat; for instance, that he
likes to get tangled in a lady's tresses, a situation which would frighten
him far more than the lady; or that he brings bedbugs into the house,
when he enters on his quest for mosquitoes, which is an ungrateful slander.
Some people believe that all bats are vampires, and only await an oppor-
tunity to suck blood from their victims. It is true that in South America
there are two species which occasionally attack people who are careless
enough to sleep with their toes uncovered, but feet thus injured seem to

Mammal Study

245

recover speedily; and these bats do little damage to people, although
they sometimes pester animals; but there are no vampires in the United
States. Our bats, on the contrary, are innocent and beneficial to man;
and if we had more of them we should have less malaria. There a few
species in our country, which have little, leaf-like growths on the end of
the nose; and when scientists study the bat from a nature-study
mstead of an anatomical standpoint, we shall know what these leafy
appendages are used for.

The little brown bat.

LESSON LIX
The Bat

Leading thought — Although the bat's wings are very dififerent from
those of the bird's yet it is a rapid and agile flier. It flies in the dusk and
catches great numbers of mosquitoes and other troublesome insects, upon
which it feeds.

Method — This lesson should not be given unless there is a live bat to
illustrate it; the little creature can be cared for comfortably in a cage in
the schoolroom, as it will soon learn to take flies or bits of raw meat when
presented on the point of a pencil or toothpick. Any bat will do for this
study, although the little brown bat is the one on which my observations
were made.

Observations — i . At what time of day do we see bats flying? Describe
how the bat's flight differs from that of birds. Why do bats dart about
so rapidly?

2. Look at a captive bat and describe its wings. Can you see what
makes the framework of the wings? Do you see the three finger bones
extending out into the wings? How do the hind legs support the wing?
The tail? Is the wing membrane covered with fur? Is it thick and
leathery or thin and silky and elastic? How does the bat fold up its
wings ?

3. In what position does the bat rest? Does it ever hang by his
thumb hooks?

4. Can you see whether the knees of the hind legs bend upward or
downward? How does the bat act when trying to walk or crawl? How
does it use its thumb hooks in doing this?

5. "What does the bat do daytimes? Where does it stay during the
day? Do many bats congregate together in their roosts?

246 Handbook of Nature-Study

6. Describe the bat's head, including the ears, eyes, nose and mouth.
What is its general expression? Do you think it can see and hear well?
How is its mouth fitted for catching insects? Does it shut its mouth
while chewing or keep it open ? Do you think that bats can see by day-
light?

7. What noises does a bat make? How does it act if you try to
touch it? Can it bite severely? Can you understand why the Germans
call it a fiitter-mouse?

8. Do you know how the mother bat cares for her young? How does
she carry them? At what time of year may we expect to find them?

9. When making its toilet, how does a bat clean its wings? Its face?
Its back? Its feet? Do you know if it is very clean in his habits?

10. How and where do the bats pass the winter? How are they
beneficial to us? Are they ever harmful?

Supplementary reading — American Animals, Stone and Cram.

Nature-study stionld not he unrelated to the child's life and circumstances. It
stands for directness and naturalness. It is astonishing when one comes to think of it,
how indirect and how remote from, the lives of pupils much of om education has been.
Geography still often begins with the universe, and finally, perhaps, comes down to
some concrete and familiar object or scene that the pupil can understand. Arithmetic
has to do ivith brokerage and partnerships and partial payments and other things that
mean nothing to the child. Botany begins with cells and protoplasm and cryptogams.
History deals with political and military affairs, and only rarely comes down to physical
facts and to those events that express the real lives of the people; and yet political and
social affairs arc only tht results of expressions of the ivay in which people live. Read-
ers begin with mere literature or with stories of scenes the child will never see. Of course
these statements are meant to be only general, as illustrating what is even yet a great
fault in educational methods. There are many exceptions, and these are becoming
commoner. Surely, the best education is that which begins with the materials at hand.
A child knows a stone before it knows the earth.

' — L. H. Bailey in "The Nature-Study Idea."

Mammal btudy

247

THE SKUNK
Teacher's Story

HOSE who have had experience with this animal, surely
are glad that it is small; and the wonder always is,
that so little a creature can make such a large impres-
sion upon the atmosphere. A fully grown skunk is
about two feet long: its body is covered with long,
shining, rather coarse hair, and the tail which is carried
like a flag in the air, is very large and bushy. In color,
the fur is sometimes entirely black, but most often has a white patch on
the back of the neck, with two stripes extending down the back and
along the sides to the tail; the face, also, has a white stripe.

The skunk has a long head and a rather pointed snout; its front legs
are very much shorter than its hind legs, which gives it a very peculiar
gait. Its forefeet are armed with long, strong claws, with which it digs
its burrow, which is usually made in hght soil. It also often makes its
home in some crevice in rocks, or even takes possession of an abandoned
woodchuck's hole; or trusting to its immunity from danger, makes its
home under the barn. In the fall, it becomes very fat, and during the
early part of winter, hibernates within its den ; it comes out during the
thaws of winter and early spring.

The young skunks appear in May ; they are born in an enlarged portion
of the burrow, where a nice bed of grass and leaves is made for them; the
skunk is scrupulously neat about its own nest. The young skunks are
very active, and interesting to watch, when playing together like kittens.
The skunk belongs to the same family as the mink and weasel, which
also give ofiE a disagreeable odor when angry. The fetid material which
is the skunk's defence, is contained in two capsules under the root of the
tail. These little capsules are not larger than peas, and the quantity of
liquid forced from them in a discharge is scarcely more than a large drop;
yet it will permeate the atmosphere with its odor for a distance of a mile.
The fact that this discharge is so disagreeable to all other animals, has had
a retarding influence upon
the skunk's intelligence. It
has not been obliged to rely
upon its cunning to escape its
enemies, and has therefore
never developed either fear
or cleverness. It marches
abroad without haste, confi-
dent that every creature
which sees it will give it plenty
of room. It is a night
prowler, although it is not
averse to a daytime prome-
nade. The white upon its fur
gives warning at night, that
here is an animal which had
best be left alone. This im-
munity from attack makes
the skunk careless in learning

Photo by Verne -Morton
The skunk.

248 Handbook of Nature-Study

wisdom from experience; it never learns to avoid a trap or a railway
or trolley track.

The skunk's food consists largely of insects, mice, snakes and other
small animals. It also destroys the eggs and young of birds which
nest upon the ground. It uses its strong forepaws in securing its
prey. Dr. Merriam, who made pets of young skunks after removing
their scent capsules, found them very interesting. He says of one
which was named "Meph": "We used to walk through the woods
to a large meadow that abounded in grasshoppers. Here, Meph would
fairly revel in his favorite food, and it was rich sport to watch his
manoeuvres. When a grasshopper jumped, he jumped, and I have seen
him with as many as three in his mouth and two under his fore-paws at
the same time."

The only injury which the skunk is likely to do to the farmers, is the
raiding of the hens' nests, and this can be obviated by properly housing
the poultry. On the other hand, the skunk is of great use in destroying
injurious insects and mice. Often when skunks burrow beneath barns,
they completely rid the place of mice. Skunk fur is very valuable and is
sold under the name of Alaskan sable. The skunk takes short steps, and
goes so slowly that it makes a double track, the imprints being very close
together. The foot makes a longer track than that of the cat, as the
skunk is plantigrade ; that is, it walks upon its palms and heels as well as
its toes.

Skunk tracks.

References — Wild Neighbors, Ingersoll; Familiar Life in Field and
Forest, Mathews; American Animals, Stone and Cram; Squirrels and
Other Fur Bearers, Burroughs.

LESSON LX
The Skunk

Leading thought — The skunk has depended so long upon protecting
itself from its enemies by its disagreeable odor, that it has become stupid
in this respect, and seems never to be able to learn to keep off of railroad
tracks. It is a very beneficial animal to the farmer because its food con-
sists so largely of injurious insects and rodents.

Method — The questions should be given the pupils and they should
answer them from personal observations or inquiries.

Observations — i. How large is a skunk? Describe its fur. Where
does the black and white occur in the fur? Of what use is the white to
the skunk? Is the fur valuable? What is its commercial name?

2. What is the shape of the skunk's head? The general shape of the
body? The tail? Are the front legs longer or shorter than the hind legs?
Describe the front feet. For what are they used?

3. Where and how does the skunk make its nest? Does it sleep like
a woodchuck during the winter? What is its food? How does it catch
its prey? Does it hunt for its food during the day or the night? Does

Mammal Study 249

the skunk ever hurry? Is it afraid? How does it protect itself from its
enemies? Do you think that the skunk's freedom from fear has rendered
the animal less intelligent?

4. At what time do the skunk kittens appear? Have you ever seen
little skunks playing ? If so, describe their antics. How is the nest made
soft for the young ones ?

5. How does the skunk benefit farmers? Does it ever do them any
injury? Do you think that it does more good than harm?

6. Describe the skunk's track as follows: How many toes show in
the track? Does the palm or heel show? Are the tracks near together?
Do they form a single or a double line?

Supplementary reading — Squirrels and Other Fur Bearers, Burroughs.

Saw a littl-c skunk coming up the river bank in the woods at the white oak, a funny
little fellow, about six inches long and nearly as broad. It faced me and actually com-
pelled me to retreat before it for -five minutes. Perhaps I was between it and its hole.
Its broad black tail, tipped with white, was erect like a kitten's. It had what looked like
a broad ivhite band drawn tight across its forehand or top-head, from which two lines of
white ran down, one on each stde of its back, and there was a narroiv white line down its
snout. It raised tts back, sometimes ran a few feet forward, sometimes backward, and
repeatedly turned its tail to me, prepared to discharge its fluid, like the old ones. Suck
was its instinct, and all the while it kept -up a fine grunting like a kttle pig or a red
squirrel. — Henry Thoreau.

Few animals are so silent as the skunk. Zoological works contain no information
as to its voice, and the essayists rarely mention it except by implication. Mr. Bur-
roughs says: "The most silent creature known to me, he makes no sound, so far as I
have observed, save a diffuse, impatient noise, like that produced by beating your hand
with a whisk-broom, when the farm-dog has discovered his retreat in the stone fence."
Rowland Robinson tells us that: "The voiceless creature sometimes frightens the
belated farm-boy, ivhom he curiously follows with a mysterious hollow beating of his feet
upon the ground." Thoreau, as has been mentioned, heard one keep up a "fine
grunting, like a little pig or a squirrel;" but he seems to have misunderstood altogether a
singular loud patting sound heard repeatedly on the frozen ground under the wall, which
he also listened to, for he thought it "had to do ivith getting its food, patting the eartli to
get the insects or worms." Probably he would have omitted this guess if he could Jiave
edited his diary instead of leaving that to be done after his death. The patting is evi-
dently merely a nervous sign of impatience or apprehension, similar to the well-known
stamping with the hind feet indulged in by rabbits, in this case probably a menace like a
doubling of the fists, as the hind legs, with which they kick, are their only weapons.
The skunk, then, is not voiceless, bid its voice is ivcak and querulous, and it is rarely if
ever heard except in the expression of anger.

— Ernest Ingersol in "Wild Xeighbors."

250

Hmidbook of Nature-Study

The raccoon.
Photo by George Fiske, Jr.

THE RACCOON

Teacher's Story

n ONE other of our little brothers of the forest,
has such a mischievous countenance as the
coon. The black patch across the face
and surrounding the eyes, like large goggles,
and the black line extending from the long,
inquisitive nose directly up the forehead give
the coon's face an anxious expression; and
the keenness of the big, beady, black eyes
and the alert, "sassy" looking, broadly
triangular ears, convince one that the anxiety
depicted in the face is anxiety lest something
that should not be done be left tmdone; and

I am sure that anyone who has had experience with pet coons will aver

that their acts do not belie their looks.
What country child,

wandering by the brook and -t

watching its turbulence in

early spring, has not viewed

with awe, a footprint on the

muddy banks looking as if it

were made by the foot of a 9

very little baby. The first

one I ever saw, I promptly

concluded was made by the

«•-*•

^25=3.

2^«

*;^

i^^.

^» j9 — "■

Coon tracks.

Walking 2 Jumping

Mammal Study 251

foot of a brook fairy. However, the coon is no fairy; it is a rather
heavy, logy animal and, like the bear and skunk, is plantigrade, walking
on the entire foot instead of on the toes, like a cat or dog. The hind foot
is long, with a well-marked heel, and five comparatively short toes, giv-
ing it a remarkable resemblance to a human foot. The front foot is
smaller and looks like a wide, little hand, with fourlong fingers and a
rather short thumb. The claws are strong and sharp. The soles
of the feet and the palms of the hands look as if they were covered
with black kid, while the feet above and the backs of the hands are
covered with short fur. Coon tracks are likely to be found during the
first thawing days of winter, along some stream or the borders of
swamps, often following the path made by cattle. The full-length track
is about 2 inches long; as the coon puts the hind foot in the track made by
the front foot on the same side, only the print of the hind feet is left,
showing plainly five toe prints and the heel. The tracks may vary
from one-half inch to one foot or more apart, depending on how
fast the animal is going; when it runs it goes on its toes, but when walking
sets the heel down; the tracks are not in so straight a hne as those made
by the cat. Sometimes it goes at a slow jump, when the prints of the
hind feet are paired, and between and behind them are the prints of the
two front feet.

The coon is covered with long, rather coarse hair, so long as to almost
drag when the animal is walking; it really has two different kinds of
hair, the long, coarse, gray hair, blackened at the tips, covering the fine,
short, grayish or brownish under coat. The very handsome bushy tail is
ringed with black and gray.

The raccoon feeds on almost anything eatable, except herbage. It has
a special predilection for com in the milk stage and, in attaining this
sweet and toothsome luxury, it strips down the husks and often breaks
the plant, doing much damage. It is also fond of poultry and often raids
hen houses; it also destroys birds' nests and the young, thus damaging
the farmer by killing both domestic and wild birds. It is especially fond
of fish and is an adept at sitting on the shore and catching them with its
hands; it likes turtle eggs, crayfish and snakes; it haunts the bayous of
the Gulf Coast for the oysters which grow there; it is also a skillful frog
catcher. Although fond of animal diet, it is also fond of fruit, especially
of berries and wild grapes.

It usually chooses for a nest a hollow tree or a cavern in a ledge near a
stream, because of its liking for water creatures; and also because of its
strange habit of washing its meat before eating it. I have watched a pet
coon performing this act; he would take a piece of meat in his hands,
dump it into the pan of drinking water and souse it up and down a few
times; then he would get into the pan with his splay feet and roll the meat
beneath and between them, meanwhile looking quite unconcernedly at his
surroundings, as if washing the meat were an act too mechanical to occupy
his mind. After the meat had become soaked until white and flabby, he
would take it in his hands and hang on to it with a tight grip while he
pulled off pieces with his teeth; or sometimes he would hold it with his
feet, and use hands as well as teeth in tearing it apart. The coon's teeth
are very much like those of the cat, having long, sharp tushes or canines,
and sharp, wedge-shaped grinding teeth, which cut as well as grind!
After eating, the pet coon always washed his feet by splashing them in
the pan.

252 Handbook of Nature-Study

It is a funny sight to watch a coon arrange itself for a nap, on a branch
or in the fork of a tree, it adapts its fat body to the unevenness of the bed
with apparent comfort ; it then tucks its nose down between its paws and
curls its tail about itself, making a huge, furry ball. In all probability,
the rings of gray and black on the tail, serve as protective color to the
animal sleeping in a tree during the daytime, when sunshine and shadow
glance down between the leaves with ever-changing light. The coon
spends much of its days asleep in some such situation, and comes forth at
night to seek its food.

In the fall, the coon lays on fat enough to last it during its winter sleep.
Usually several inhabit the same nest in winter, lying curled up together
in a hollow tree, and remaining dormant all winter except when awakened
by the warmth of a thaw. They then may come forth to see what is
happening, but return shortly to wait until March or April; then they
issue to hunt for the scant food, and are so lean and weak that they fall
easy prey to their enemies.

The young are born in April and May; there are from three to six in a
litter; they are blind and helpless at first, and are cared for carefully
by their parents, the family remaining together for a year, until the young
are fully grown. If removed from their parents the young ones cry
pitifully, almost like babies. The cry or whistle of the fully grown coon
is anything but a happy sound, and is quite impossible to describe. I
have been awakened by it many a night in camp, and it always sounded
strange, taking on each time new quavers and whimperings. As a cry,
it is first cousin to that of the screech-owl.

The stories of pet coons are many. I knew one which, chained in a
yard, would lie curled up near its post looking like an innocent stone
except for one eye kept watchfully open. Soon a hen, filled with curiosity
would come warily near, looking longingly at remains of food in the pan ;
the coon made no move until the disarmed biddy came close to the pan.
Then, there was a scramble and a squawk and with astonishing celerity
he would wring her neck and strip off her feathers. Another pet coon
was allowed to range over the house at will, and finally had to be sent
away because he had learned to open every door in the house, including
cupboard doors, and could also open boxes and drawers left unlocked;
and I have always believed he could have learned to unlock drawers if he
had been given the key. All coons are very curious, and one way of
trapping them is to suspend above the trap a bit of bright tin; in solving
this glittering mystery, traps are forgotten.

LESSON LXI

The Raccoon

Leading thought — The raccoon lives in hollow trees or caves along
the banks of streams. It sleeps during the day and seeks its food at
night It sleeps during the winter.

Method — If there are raccoons in the vicinity, ask the older boys to
look for their tracks rear the streams and to describe them very care-
fully to the class. The ideal method of studying the animal, is to
have a pet coon where the children may watch at leisure its enter-
taining and funny performances. If this is impossible, then follow the

Mammal Study

253

less desirable method of having the pupils read about the habits of the
coon and thus arouse their interest and open their eyes, so that they
may make observations of their own when opportunity offers. I would
suggest the following topics for oral or written work in English:

"How and Where Coons Live and What They Do;" "The Autobio-
graphy of a Coon One Year Old;" "The Queer Antics of Pet Coons;"
"Stories of the Coon's Relative, the Bear."

Treed.

Observations — i. Where have you found raccoon tracks? How do
they differ from those of fox or dog? How far are the footprints apart?
Can you see the heel and toe prints? Do you see the tracks of all four
feet? Are the tracks in a straight line like those of the cat? What is the
size of the track, the length, the breadth?

2. What do coons eat and how do they get their food? Which of our
crops are they likely to damage? What other damage do they do?
Have you ever heard coons cry or whistle during August nights in the
cornfields?

254

Hmidbook of Nature-Study

Has it teeth resembling

3. Why do raccoons Hke to Hve near the water? What do they find
of interest there? How do they prepare their meat before eating it?
How does a coon handle its meat while eating it?

4. AVhat kind of fur has the coon? Why does it need such a heavy
covering ? Describe the color of the fur. Describe the tail. Of what use
is such a large and bushy tail to this animal?

5. Describe the coon's face. How is it marked? What is its expres
sion ? Describe the eyes and ears. The nose,
those of the cat and dog?

6. Describe the coon's feet. How many toes on the front feet?
How many on the hind feet? How does this differ from the cat and dog?
How do the front and hind feet differ in appearance? Can both be used
as hands ?

7. How do coons arrange themselves for a nap in a tree? How do
they cover the head? How is the tail used? Do you think this bushy
tail used in this way would help to keep the animal warm in winter?
Do coons sleep most daytimes or nights?

8. At what time of year are coons fattest? Leanest? Why? Do
they ever come out of their nests in winter? Do they live together or
singly in winter?

9. At what time of year are the young coons born? Do you know
how they look when they are young? How are they cared for by their
parents?

10. Are the coon's movements slow or fast? What large animal is
a near relative of the coon?

Supplementary reading — American Animals, Stone and Cram; Wild
Neighbors, Ingersoll; Familiar Life of Field and Forest, Mathews; Little
People of the Sycamore, Roberts; Life of Animals, Ingersoll; "Mux" in
Roof and Meadow, Sharp; Little Brother of the Bear, Long.

Professor Fred S. Charles and his pet coon, ''Dick".

Mammal Sttuiy

25s

THE WOLF

HE study of the wolf should precede the lessons
on the fox and the dog. After becoming
familiar with the habits of wolves, the pupils
will be much better able to understand the
nature of the dog and its life as a wild animal.
In most localities, the study of the wolf m_ust,
of course, be a matter of reading, unless the
pupils have an opportunity to study the
animal in traveling manageries or in zoo-
logical gardens. However, in all the gov-
ernment preserves, the timber wolf has
multiplied to such an extent, that it may

become a factor in the lives of many people in the United States. This

Wolf ranged in packs over New York State a hundred years ago, but

was finally practically exterminated in most of the eastern forests, except

in remote and mountainous localities. A glance at Bulletin 72 by

Vernon Bailey, published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture,

Forest Service, is a revelation of the success of the timber wolf, iii

coming back to his own, as soon as the forest preserves furnished

plenty of game, and forbade hunters. Timber wolves are returning of

late years to Western Maine and Northern New Hampshire; Northern

Michigan and Wisconsin have them in greater numbers ; some have also

been killed in the Apalachian Mountains of Tennessee, Virginia and West

Virginia, but their stronghold is in the great Rocky Mountain Region and

the Northwestern Sierras, from which they have never been driven.
It might be well to begin this lesson on the wolf with a talk about the

gray wolves which

our ancestors had to

contend with, and

also with stories of

the coyote or prairie

wolf which has

learned to adapt

itself to civilization

and flourishes in the

regions west of the

Rocky Mountains,

despite men and

dogs. Literature is

rich in wolf stories.

Although Kipling's

famous M o w g 1 i

Stories belong t o

the realm of fiction,

yet they contain

interesting accounts

of the habits of the

wolves of India, and

are based upon the

himter's and track-

Gray Wolf

256

Handbook of Nature-Study

er's knowledge of these animals. We have many thrillingly interesting
stories in our own literature which deal with our native wolves. The
following are among the best :

"Lobo" in Wild Animals I Have Known; "Tito" in Lives of the
Hunted; "Bad Lands Billy and the Winnipeg Wolf" in Animal Heroes
all by Thompson Seton; "The Passing of Black Whelps" in Watchers of
the Trail by Roberts; Northern Trails by Long; "Pico, Coyote" by Coolidge
in True Tales of Birds and Beasts.

For more serious accounts of the wolves see American Animals,
p. 277; The "Hound of the Plains, "in Wild Neighbors, and page 188 in
the Life of Animals, both by IngersoU. "The Coyote" by Bret Harte and
"The Law of the Pack" in the Second Jungle Book bring the wolf
into poetry.

From some or all of these stories, the pupils should get informa-
tion about the habits of the wolves. This information should be in-
corporated in an essay or an oral exercise and should cover the following
points: Where do the wolves live? On what do they feed? How
do they get their prey? Do they hunt alone or in packs? How do they
call to each other? IDescription of the den where the young are reared.
The wolf's cleverness in eluding hunters and traps.

' Katrina 'W'olfchen" . the pet coyote of Professor Fred S. Charles.

Mammal Study

257

Fox cubs.

THE FOX

Teacher's Story

O WE not always, on a clear morning of winter, feel a
thrill that must have something primitive in its
quality, at seeing certain tracks in the snow that
somehow suggest wildness and freedom! Such
is the track of the fox. Although it is somewhat
-;like that of a small dog yet it is very different.
The fox has longer legs than most dogs of his
weight, and there is more of freedom in his track
and more of strength and agility expressed in it.
His gait is usually an easy lope; this places the
imprint of three feet in a line, one ahead of
another, but the fourth is off a little at one side, as if to keep the balance.
The fox lives in a den or burrow. The only fox home which I ever
saw, was a rather deep cave beneath the roots of a stump, and there was
no burrow or retreat beyond it. However, foxes often select woodchuck
burrows, or make burrows of their own, and if they are caught within,
they can dig rapidly, as many a hunter can attest. The mother usually
selects an open place for a den for the young foxes; often an open field or
side-hill is chosen for this. The den is carpeted with grass and is a very
comfortable place for the fox puppies. The den of the father fox is
usually not far away.

The face of the red fox shows plainly why he has been able to cope with
man, and thrive despite and because of him. If ever a face showed
cunning, it is his. Its pointed, slender nose gives it an expression of
extreme cleverness, while the width of the head between the upstanding,
triangular ears gives room for a brain of power. In color the fox is russet-
red, the hind quarters being grayish. The legs are black outside and
white inside ; the throat is white, and the broad, triangular ears are tipped
with black. The glory of the fox is his "brush," as the beautiful, bushy
tail is called. This is red, with black toward the end and white-tipped.
This tail is not merely for beauty, for it affords the fox warmth during the
winter, as any one may see who has observed the way it is wrapped

255

Handbook of Nature-Study

around the sleeping animal. But this bushy tail is a disadvantage, if it
becomes bedraggled and heavy with snow and sleet, when the hounds are
giving close chase to its owner. The silver fox and the black fox are the
same species as the red fox.

The fox is an inveterate hunter of the animals of the field; meadow
mice, rabbits, woodchucks, frogs, snakes and grasshoppers, are all
acceptable food; he is also destructive of birds. His fondness for the
latter has given him a bad reputation with the farmer because of his
attacks on poultry. Not only will he raid hen-roosts if he can force
entrance, but he catches many fowls in the summer when they are wander-
ing through the fields. The way he carries the heavy burden of his
larger prey shows his cleverness: He slings a hen or a goose over his
shoulders, keeping the head in his mouth to steady the burden. Mr.
Cram says, in American Animals:

"Yet, although the farmer and the fox are such inveterate enemies,
they manage to benefit each other in a great many ways quite uninten-
tionally. The fox destroys numberless field mice and woodchucks for the
farmer and in return the farmer supplies him with poultry, and builds
convenient bridges over streams and wet places, which the fox crosses
oftener than the farmer, for he is as sensitive as a cat about getting his
feet wet. On the whole, I am inclined to believe that the fox gets the
best part of the exchange, for, while the farmer shoots at him on every
occasion, and hunts him with dogs in the winter, he has cleared the land
of wolves and panthers, so that foxes are probably safer than before any
land was ploughed."

The bark of the fox is a high, sharp yelp, more like the bark of the
coyote than of the dog. There is no doubt a considerable range of
meaning in the fox's language, of which we are ignorant. He growls
when angry, and when pleased he smiles like a dog and wags his beautiful
tail.

Many are the wiles of the fox to head off dogs following his track: he

often retraces his own
steps for a few yards
and then makes a long
sidewise jump ; the
dogs go on, up to the
end of the trail
pocket, and try in
vain to get the scent
from that point.
Sometimes he walks
along the top rails of
fences or takes the
high and dry ridges
where the scent will
not remain; he often
follows roads and
beaten paths and also
goes around and
around in the midst
of a herd of cattle,
so that his scent is
Red Fox. hidden; he crosses

Mammal Study

259

streams on logs and invents various other devices too numerous and
intricate to describe. When chased by dogs, he naturally runs in a
circle, probably so as not to be too far from home If there are young
ones in the den, the father fox leads the hounds far away, in the next
county, if possible. Perhaps one of the most clever tricks of the fox, is
to make friends with the dogs. I have known of two instances where
a dog and fox wxre daily companions and playfellows.

The young foxes are bom in the spring. They are black at first and
are fascinating little creatures, being exceedingly playful and active.
Their parents are very devoted to them, and during all their puppyhood,
the mother fox is a menace to the poultry of the region, because the
necessity is upon her of feeding her rapidly growing litter.

In my opinion, the best story of animal fiction is "Red Fox" by
Roberts. Like all good fiction, it is based upon facts and it presents a
wholesome picture of the life of the successful fox. "The Silver Fox" by
Thompson Seton is another interesting and delightful story. Although
the Nights with Uncle Remus could scarcely be called nature stories,
3"et they are interesting in showing how the fox has become a part of
folk-lore.

Fox tracks.

LESSON LXIl
The Fox

Leading thought — The red fox is so clever that it has
been able, in many parts of our country, to maintain
itself despite dogs and men.

Method — This lesson is likely to be given largely from
hearsay or reading. However, if the school is in a rural
district, there will be plenty of hunters' stories afloat,
from which may be elicited facts concerning the cunning
and cleverness of the red fox. In such places there is
also the opportunity in winter to study fox tracks upon
the snow. The lesson may well be given when there are
fox tracks for observation. The close relationship
between foxes and dogs should be emphasized.
Observations and reading — i. Describe the fox's track. How does it
differ from the track of a small dog?

2. Where does the fox make its home? Describe the den. Describe
the den in which the young foxes live.

3. Describe the red fox, its color and form as completely as you can.
What is the expression of its face? What is there peculiar about its tail?
What is the use of this great bushy tail in the winter?

4. What is the food of the fox? How does it get its food? Is it a
day or a night hunter? How does the fox benefit the farmer? How doe?
it injure him? How does the fox carry home its heavy game, such as a
goose or a hen ?

2 6o

Hajidbook of Nature-Study

"Got a bite".

5. Have you ever heard the fox bark? Did it sound like the bark
of a dog? How does the fox express anger? Pleasure?

6. When chased by dogs, in what
direction does che fox run ? Describe
all of the tricks which you know by
which the fox throws the dog off the
scent.

7. AVhen are the young foxes
bom? How many in a litter? What
color are they? How do they play
with each other? How do they learn
to hunt?

Supplementary reading — Red Fox
by Roberts; Silver Fox by Thompson
Seton; Little Beasts of Field and
Wood, page 25; Squirrels and Other
Fur Bearers, chapter 7 ; Fox Ways in
Ways of Wood Folk, The Springfield Fox in Wild Animals I Have
Known; Familiar Wild Animals; Familiar Life in Field and Forest, page
213; American Animals, page 264; Nights with Uncle Remus.

A pet red fox.
Photo by Fred S. Charles.

Mammal Study

261

^e^

DOGS

Teacher's Story

I" OT only to-day but in ancient days, before the dawn
^ of history, the dog was the companion of man.

\ "Whether the wild species from whence he sprang,

\,^^ was wolf or jackal or some other similar animal, we
..jimm'^^ do not know, but w^e do know that many types of
dogs have been tamed independently by savages,
in the region where their untamed relatives run
wild. As the whelps of wolves, jackals and foxes
are all easily tamed, and are most interesting little
creatures, we can understand how they became companions to the children
of the savage and barbarous peoples who hunted them.

In the earliest records of cave dwellers, in the picture writing of the
ancient Egyptians and of other ancient peoples, we find record of the
presence and value of the dog. But man, in historical times, has been
able to evolve breeds that vary more in form than do the wild species of
the present. There are 200 distinct breeds of dogs known to-day, and
many of these have been bred for special purposes. The paleontologists,
moreover, assure us that there has been a decided advance in the size and
quality of the dog's brain since the days of his savagery ; thus, he has been
the companion of man's civilization also. It is not, therefore, to be
wondered at that the dog is now the most companionable, and has the
most human qualities and intelligence of all our domesticated animals.

Dogs run down their prey ; it is a necessity, therefore, that they be
equipped with legs that are long, strong and muscular. The cat, which
jumps for her prey, has much more delicate legs but has powerful hi]« to
enable her to leap. The dog's feet are much more heavily padded than
those of the cat, because in running, he must not stop to save his feet.
Hounds often return from a chase with bleeding feet, despite the heavy
pads, but the w^ounds are usually cuts between the toes. The claws are
heavy and are not retractile; thus, they afford a protection to the feet
when running, and they are also used for digging out game which burrows
into the ground. They are not used for grasping prey like those of the cat
and are used only incidentally in fighting, while the cat's claws are the
most important weapons in her armory. It is an interesting fact that
Newfoundland dogs, which are such famous swimmers, have their toes
somewhat webbed.

262

Handbook of Nature-Study

Greyhound,

The dog's body is long, lean, and
very muscular, a fat dog being
usually pampered and old. The
coat is of hair and is not of fine fur
like that of the cat. It is of inter-
est to note that the Newfoundland
dog has an inner coat of fine hair
comparable to that of the mink or
muskrat. When a dog is running,
his body is extended to its fullest
length; in fact, it seems to "lie
flat," the outstretched legs height-
ening the effect of extreme muscular
effort of forward movement. A
dog is master of several gaits; he
can run, walk, trot, botmd and
crawl.

The iris of the dog's eye is
usually of a beautiful brown, al-
though this varies with breeds; in
puppies, the iris is usually blue. The pupil is round like our own; and
dogs cannot see well in the dark like the cat, but in daylight they have
keen sight. The nose is so
much more efficient than the
eyes, that it is on the sense of
smell the dog depends for fol-
lowing his prey and for recog-
nizing friend and foe. The
damp, soft skin that covers
the nose, has in its dampness
the conditions for carrying
the scent to the wide nostrils;
these are situated at the most
forward part of the face, and
thus may be lifted in any
direction to receive the mar-
velous impressions, so com-
pletely beyond our compre-
hension. Think of being able
to scent the track of a fox
made several hours previously.
Not only to scent it, but to
follow by scent for many miles without ever having a glimpse of the fleeing
foe! In fact, while running, the dog's attention seems to be focused
entirely upon the sense of smell, for I have seen hounds pass within a few
rods to the windward of the fox they were chasing, without observing him
at all. When the nose of any of the moist-nosed beasts, such as cattle
and dogs, becomes dry it is a sign of illness.

A light fall of damp snow gives the dog the best conditions for follow-
ing a track by scent and a hound, when on the trail, will run until ex-
hausted. There are many authentic observations which show that
hounds have followed a fox for twenty-four hours without food, and
probably with little rest.

Bird dog.

Mammal Study

263

The dog's weapons for battle, like those of the wolf, are his tushes;
with these, he holds and tears his prey; with them, he seizes the wood-
chuck or other small animal through the back and shakes its life out. In
fighting a larger animal, the dog leaps against it and often incidentally
tears its flesh with his strong claws; but he does not strike a blow with his
foot like the cat, nor can he hold his quarry with it.

Dog's teeth are especially fitted for their work.
The incisors are small and sharp; the canine teeth
or tushes are very long, but there are bare spaces on
the jaws so that they are able to cross past each
other; the molar teeth are not fitted for grinding,
like the teeth of a cow, but are especially fitted for
cutting, as may be noted if we watch the way a dog
gnaws bones, first gnawing with the back teeth on
one side and then on the other. In fact, a dog
does not seem to need to chew anything, but simply
needs to cut his meat in small enough pieces so that
he can gulp them down without chewing. His
powers of digesting unchewed food are something
that the hustling American may well envy.

Of all domestic animals, the dog is most humanly understandable in
expressing emotions. If delighted, he leaps about giving ecstatic
little barks and squeals, his tail in the air and his eyes full of happy an-

Bulldog.

"Mateo", a St. Bernard of long pedigree.

264

Handbook of Nature-Study

ticipation. If he wishes to be friendly, he looks at us interestedly, comes
over to smell of us in order to assure himself whether he has ever met us
before, and then wags his tail as a sign of good faith. If he wishes to
show affection, he leaps upon us and licks our face or hands with his
soft, deft tongue and follows us jealously. When he stands at attention,
he holds his tail stiff in the air, and looks up with one ear lifted as if
to say, "Well, what's doing?" When angry, he growls and shows his
teeth and the tail is held rigidly out behind, as if to convince us that it
is really a continuation of his backbone. When afraid, he whines and
lies flat upon his belly, often looking beseechingly up toward his master as
if begging not to be punished; or he crawls away out of sight. When
ashamed, he drops his tail between his legs and with drooping head and
sidewise glance slinks away. When excited, he barks and every bark
expresses high nervous tension.

Almost all dogs that chase their prey, bark when so doing, which
would seem at first sight to be a foolish thing to do, in that it reveals their
whereabouts to their victims and also adds an incentive to flight. But it
must be borne in mind that dogs are descended from wolves, which

naturally hunt in packs and
.^ do not stalk their prey. The

baying of the hound is a most
common example of the habit,
and as we listen we can under-
stand how, by following this
sound, the pack is kept to-
gether. Almost all breeds of
dogs have an acute sense of
hearing. When a dog bays
at the moon or howls when he
hears music, it is simply a
reversion to the wild habifc o^
howling to call together the
pack or in answer "to the
music of the pack." It is
interesting that our music,
which is the flower of our
civilization, should awaken
the sleeping ancestral traits
in the canine breast. But
perhaps that, too, is why we
respond to music, because it awakens in us the strong, primitive
emotions, and for the time, enables us to free ourselves from all conven-
tional shackles and trammels.

Bloodhound.

Mammal Study

265

Fox terrier and pups.

LESSON LXIII

DOGS

Leading thought — The dog is a domesticated descendent of wolf-like
animals and has retained certain of the habits and characteristics of his
ancestors.

Method — For the observation lesson it would be well to have at hand, a
well-disposed dog which would not object to being handled; a collie or a
hound would be preferable. Many of the questions should be given to
the pupils to answer from observations at home, and the lesson should be
built upon the experience of the pupils with dogs.

Observations — i. Why are the legs of the dog long and strong in pro-
portion to the body compared with those of the cat?

2. Compare the feet of the cat with those of the dog and note which
has the heavier pads. Why is this of use to each?

3. Which has the stronger and heavier claws, the dog or the cat?
Can the dog retract his claws so that they are not visible, as does the cat?
Of what use is this arrangement to the dog? Are the front feet just like
the hind feet? How many toe impressions show in the track of the dog?

4. What is the general. characteristic of the body of the dog? Is it
soft like that of the cat, or lean and muscular? What is the difference
between the hair covering of the dog and cat? What is the attitude of
the dog when running fast ? How many kinds of gaits has he ?

5. In general, how do the eyes of the dog differ from those of the
cat? Does he rely as much upon his eyes for finding his prey as does the
cat? Can a dog see in the dark? What is the color of the dog's eyes?

6. Study the ear of the dog; is it covered? Isthisouter ear movable,
is it a flap, or is it cornucopia shaped? How is this flap used when the
dog is listening? Roll a sheet of paper into a flaring tube and place the

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Handbook of Naiure-Stttdy

small end upon your own ear, and note if it helps you to hear better the
sounds in the direction toward which the tube opens? Note how the
hound lifts his long earlaps, so as to make a tube for conveying sounds to
his inner ear. Do you think that dogs can hear well ?

7. What is the
position of the nose in
the dog's face? Of
what use is this?
Describe the nostrils;
are they placed on
the foremost point of
the face? What is
the condition of the
skin that surrounds
them? How does this
condition of the nose
aid the dog? What
other animals have it ?
Does the dog recog-
nize his friends or
become acquainted
with strahigers by
means of his sight or
of his powers of smell-
ing:

"Klondike Jack".

The dog that pulled four hundred fifty pounds five hundred

miles through the White Horse Pass in the winter

of the first gold excitement.

8. How long after
a fox or rabbit has
passed can a hound follow the track? Does he follow it by sight or by
smell? What are the conditions most favorable for retaining the scent?
The most unfavorable ? How long will a hound follow a fox trail without
stopping for rest or food? Do you think the dog is your superior in
ability to smell?

9. How does a dog seize and kill his prey? How does he use his feet
and claws when fighting? What are his especially strong weapons?
Describe a dog's teeth and explain the reason for the bare spaces on the
jaw next to the tushes. Does the dog use

his tushes when chewing? What teeth does
he use when gnawing a bone? Make a
diagram of the arrangement of the dog's
teeth.

10. How by action, voice, and especially
by the movement of the tail does the dog ex-
press the following emotions: Delight,
friendliness, affection, attention, anger, fear,
shame, excitement? How does he act when
chasing his prey? Why do wolves and dogs
bark when following the trail? Do you think
of a reason why dogs often howl at night or
when listening to music? What should we
feed to our pet dogs? What should we do to
make them comfortable in other ways?

11. Tell or write a story of some dog of

which you know by experience or hearsay.

In pleasant mood.
A collie.

Mammal Study

267

Of what use was the dog to the pioneer? How are dogs used in the
Arctic regions? In Holland?

12. How many breeds of dogs do you know? Describe charac-
ters of such as follows: The length of the legs as compared with the
body; the general shape of the body, head, ears, nose; color and character
of hair on head, body and tail.

13. Find if you can the reasons which have led to the develop-
ing of the following breeds: Newfoundland, St. Bernard, mastiffs
hounds, collies, spaniels, setters, pointers, bulldogs, terriers, and pugs.

Supplementary reading — "Stories of Brave Dogs" from St. Nicholas,
the Century Co.; the following three stories from Thompson-Seton:
"Chink" in Lives of the Hunted, "Snap" in Animal Heroes, "Wully" in
Wild Animals I Have Known; Bob, Son of Battle; Mack, His Book, by
Florence Leigh; Rab and his Friends; The Dog of Flanders; "Red Dog"
in Kipling's Jungle Stories; i\.nimals of the World, Knight and Jenks,
p. 80; Life of Animals, Ingersoll, p. 187.

Fox hunting, in the Genesee Vallev. N. V.

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Handbook of Nature-Study

An aristocrat.

THE CAT

Teacher's Story

F all people, the writer should regard the cat sym-
pathetically, for when she was a baby of five
months she was adopted by a cat. My self-
elected foster-mother was Jenny, a handsome black
and white cat, which at that time lost her first
litter of kittens, through the attack of a savage cat
from the woods. She was as Rachel crying for her
children, when she seemed suddenly to compre-
hend that I, although larger than she, was an
infant. She haunted my cradle, trying to give
me milk from her own breasts; and later she
brought half-killed mice and placed them enticingly in my cradle, coaxing
me to play with them, a performance which pleased me much more than
it did my real mother. Jenny always came to comfort me when I cried,
rubbing against me, purring loudly, and licking me with her tongue in a
way to drive mad the modern mother, wise as to the sources of children's
internal parasites. This maternal attitude toward me lasted as long as
Jenny lived, which was until I was nine years old. Never during those
years did I lift my voice in wailing, that she did not come to comfort
me; and even to-day I can remember how great that comfort was,
especially when my naughtiness was the cause of my weeping, and when^
therefore, I felt that the whole world, except Jenny, was against me.

Mammal Study 269

Jenny was a cat of remarkable intelligence and was very obedient and
useful. Coming down the kitchen stairs one day, she played with the
latch and someone hearing her, opened the door. She did this several
times, when one day she chanced to push down the latch, and thus opened
the door herself. After that, she always opened it herself. A little later,
she tried the trick on other doors, and soon succeeded in opening all the
latched doors in the house, by thrusting one front leg through the handle-,
and thus supporting her weight and pressing down with the foot of the
other on the thumb-piece of the latch. I remember, guests were greatly
astonished to see her coming thus swinging into the sitting-room. Later
she tried the latches from the other side, jumping up and trying to lift the
hook; but now, her weight was thrown against the wrong side of the door
for opening, and she soon ceased this futile waste of energy; but for
several years, she let herself into all the rooms in this clever maimer, and
taught a few of her bright kittens to do the same.

A pet cat enjoys long conversations with favored members of the
household. She will sit in front of her mistress and mew, with every
appearance of answering the questions addressed her; and since the cat
and the mistress each knows her own part of the conversation, it is per-
haps more typical of society chatter than we might like to confess. Of
our language, the cat learns to understand the call to food, its own name,
"scat," and "No, No," probably inferring the meaning of the latter from
the tone of voice. On the other hand, we understand when it asks to go
out, and its polite recognition to the one who opens the door. I knew one
cat which invariably thanked us when we let him in as well as out.
When the cat is hungry, it mews pleadingly; when happy in front of the
fire, it looks at us sleepily out of half-closed eyes and gives a short mew
expressive of affection and content; or it purrs, a noise which we do not
know how to imitate and which expresses perfectly the happiness of inti-
mate companionship. When frightened the cat yowls, and when hurt
squalls shrilly ; when fighting, it is like a savage warrior in that it howls a
war-song in blood-curdling strains, punctuated with a spitting expressive
of fear and contempt; and unfortunately, its love song is scarcely less
agonizing to the Hstener. The cat's whole body enters into the expression
of its emotions. When feeling affectionate toward its mistress, it rubs
against her gown, with tail erect, and vibrating with a purr which seems
fundamental. When angry, it lays its ears back and lashes its tail back
and forth, the latter being a sign of excitement; when frightened, its hair
stands on end, especially the hair of the tail, making that expressive
appendage twice its natural size; when caught in disobedience, the cat
lets its tail droop, and when nmning lifts it in
a curve.

While we feed cats milk and scraps from
our own table, they have never become entirely
civilized in their tastes. They always catch
mice and other small animals and prove pesti-
ferous in destroying birds. Jenny was wont
to bring her quarry, as an offering, to the front
steps of our home every night; one morning
we found seven mice, a cotton-tail rabbit and

two snakes, which represented her night's Bones and Ugammts
catch. The cat never chases its prey like the <?/ cat's claw.

dog. It discovers the haunts of its victims, a ciaw up. b ciaw thrust out.

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Handbook of Nature-Study

and then lies in ambush, flattened out as still as a statue and all its feet
beneath it, ready to make the spring. The weight of the body is a factor
which enters in the blow with which the cat strikes down its victim, and
thus stuns and which it later kills by gripping the throat with the strong
tushes. She carries her victims as she does her kittens, by the back.

The cat's legs are not long compared with the body, and it runs with a
leaping gallop ; the upper legs are armed with powerful muscles. It walks
on the padded toes, five on the front feet and four of the hind feet. The
cat needs its claws to be sharp and hooked, in order to seize and hold its
prey, so they are kept safely sheathed when not thus used. If the claws
struck the earth during walking, as do the dog's, they would soon become
dulled. When sharpening its claws it reaches high up against a tree or
post, and strikes them into the wood with a downward scratch; this act
is probably more for exercising the muscles which control the claws than
for sharpening them.

The cat's track is in a single line as if it had only two feet, one set
directly ahead of the other. It accomplishes this by setting its hind feet
exactly in the tracks made by the front feet. The cat can easily leap
upward, landing on a window-sill five feet from the ground. The jump is
made with the hind legs and the alighting is done silently on the front
feet.

Cats' eyes are fitted for seeing in the dark; in the daytime the pupil is
simply a narrow, up and down slit; under excitement, and at night, the
pupil covers almost the entire eye. At the back of the eye is a reflecting
surface, which catches such dim light as there is, and by reflecting it
enables the cat to use it twice. It is this reflected light, which gives the
peculiar green glare to the eyes of all the cats when seen in the dark.
Some night-flying moths have a like arrangement for utilizing the light,

and their eyes glow like living coals. Of
course, since the cat is a night hunter, this
power of multiplying the rays of light is of
great use. The iris of the eye is usually
yellow, but in kittens it may be blue or green.
The cat's teeth are pecularily fitted for
its needs. The six doll-like incisors of the
upper and lower jaw are merely for scraping
meat from bones. The two great tushes,
or canines, on each jaw, with a bare place
behind so that they pass each other freely, are
sharp and hooked, and are for seizing and
carrying prey. The cat is able to open its
mouth as wide as a right angle, in order to
better hold and carry prey. The back teeth,
or molars, are four on each side in the upper
jaw and three, below. They are sharp-edged
wedges made for cutting meat fine enough, so
that it may be swallowed.

The tongue is covered with sharp papillae

directed backwards, also used for rasping

juices from meat. The cat's nose is moist,

''Folks are so tiresome." and her sense of smell very keen, as is also her

sense of hearing. The ears rise like two hollow half-cones on either

Mammal Study

271

side of the head and are filled with sensitive hairs; they ordinarily open
forward, but are capable of movement. The cat's whiskers consist of
from twenty-five to thirty long hairs set in four lines, above and at the
sides of the mouth; they are connected with sensitive nerves and are
therefore true feelers. The cat's fur is very fine and thick, and is also
sensitive; as can readily be proved, by trying to stroke it the wrong
way. While the wild cats have gray or tawny fur, variously mottled
or shaded, the more striking colors we see in the domestic cats are the
result of man's breeding.

Cats are very cleanly in their habits. Puss always washes her face
directly after eating, using one paw for a wash-cloth and licking it clean
after she rubs her face. She cleans her fur with her rough tongue and
also by biting; and she promptly buries objectionable matter. The
mother cat is very attentive
to the cleanliness of her kit-
tens, licking them clean from
nose tip to tail tip. The ways
of the mother cat with her
kittens do much to sustain
the assertions of Mr. Seton
and Mr. Long that young
animals are trained and edu-
cated by their parents. The
cat brings half-dazed mice to
her kittens, that they may
learn to follow and catch them
with their own little claws.
When she punishes them, she
cuffs the ears by holding one
side of the kitten's head firm
with the claws of one foot,
while she lays on the blows
with the other. She carries her
kittens by the nape of the neck,
never hurting them. She takes them into the field when they are old
enough, and shows them the haunts of mice, and does many things for
their education and welfare. The kittens meantime train themselves to
agility and dexterity, by playing rough and tumble with each other, and
by chasing every small moving object, even to their own tails.

The cat loves warmth and finds her place beneath the stove or at the
hearthside. She likes some people, and dislikes others, for no reason we
can detect. She can be educated to be friendly with dogs and with
birds. In feeding her, we should give her plenty of sweet milk, some
cooked meat and fish of which she is very fond; and we should keep a
bundle of catnip to make her happy, for even the larger cats of the wilder-
ness seem to have a passionate liking for this herb. The cat laps milk
with her rough tongue, and when eating meat, she turns the head this
way and that, to cut the tough muscle with her back teeth.

''Interested!"

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Handbook of Nature-Study

Cats Should be Traixed to Leave Birds Alone

Every owner of a cat owes it to the world to train puss to leave birds
alone. If this training is begun during kittenhood, by switching the
culprit every time it even looks at a bird, it will soon learn to leave them

severely alone. I have tried
this many times, and I know
it is efficacious, if the cat is
intelligent. We have never
had a cat whose early training
we controlled, that could ever
be induced to even w^atch
birds. If a cat is not thus
trained as a kitten, it is likely
to be always treacherous in
this respect. But in case any
one has a valuable cat which
is given to catching birds, I
^, ■ , , , . , , r ■ ,, strongly advise the following

Tk:s cat has bca:^u-ar^^^^^^ treatment which has been

^^ ^' proved practicable by a friend

of mine. When a cat has made the catch, take the bird away and
sprinkle it with red pepper, and then give it back. One stich treatment
as this resulted in making one cat, which was an inveterate bird
hunter, run and hide every time he saw a bird thereafter. Any persons
taking cats with them to their summer homes, and abandoning them
there to prey upon the birds of the vicinity, and to become poor, half-
starved, wild creatures, ought to be arrested and fined. It is not
only cruelty to the cats, but it is positive injury and damage to the com-
munity, because of the slaughter of beneficial birds which it entails.

LESSON LXIV

The Cat

Leading thought — The cat was made a domestic animal before man
wrote histories. It gets prey by springing from ambush and is fitted by
form of body and teeth to do this. It naturally hunts at night and has
eyes fitted to see in the dark.

Method — This lesson may be used in primary grades by asking a few
questions at a time and allowing the children to make their observations on
their own kittens at home, or a kitten may be brought to school for this
purpose. The upper grade work consists of reading and retelling or writ-
ing exciting stories of the great, wild, savage cats, like the tiger, lion,
leopard, lynx and panther.

Observations — i. How much of Pussy's language do you understand?
What does she say when she wishes you to open the door for her? How
does she ask for something to eat? What does she say when she feels like
conversing with you? How does she cry when hurt? When frightened?
What noise does she make when fighting? AVhen calling other cats?
What are her feelings when she purrs? When she spits? How many
things which you say does she understand?

Mammal Study

273

2. How else than by voice does she express affection, pleasure and
anger? When she carries her tail straight up in the air is she in a jjleasant
mood? When her tail "bristles up" how does she feel? What is it
a sign of, when she lashes her tail back and forth?

3. What do you feed to cats? What do they catch for themselves?
What do the cats that are wild live upon? How does the cat help us?
How does she injure us?

4. How does a cat catch her prey? Does she track mice by the scent?
Does she catch them by running after them as a dog does? Describe how
she lies in ambush. How does she hold the mouse as she pounces upon it?
How does she carry it home to her kittens?

5. Study the cat's paws to see how she holds her prey. Where are
the sharp claws? Are they always in sight like a dog's? Does she touch
them to the ground when she walks? Which walks the more silently,

Amicable advances.

a dog or a cat? Why? Describe the cat's foot, including the toe-pads.
Are there as many toes on the hind feet as on the front feet? What kind
of a track does the cat make in the snow? How does she set her feet to
make such a track ? How does she sharpen her claws ? How does she use
her claws for climbing? How far have you ever seen a cat jump? Does
she use her front or her hind feet in making the jump ? On which feet does
she alight? Does she make much noise when she alights?

6. What is there peculiar about a cat's eyes? What is their color?
What is the color of kittens' eyes? What is the shape of the pupil in day-
Hght? In the dark? Describe the inner lid which comes from the comer
of the eye.

7. How many teeth has Puss? What is the use of the long tushes?
Why is there a bare space behind these? What does she use her little
front teeth for? Does she use her back teeth for chewing or for cutting
meat?

8. How many whiskers has she? How long are they? What is
their use ? Do you think that puss has a keen sense of smell ? Why do

274

Haitdbook of N ature-Study

you think so? Do you think she has a keen sense of hearing? How do
the shape and position of the ears help in Hstening? In what position are
the ears when puss is angry?

9. How many colors do you find in our domestic cats. What is the
color of wild cats ? Why would it not be beneficial to the wild-cat to have
as striking colors as our tame cats? Compare the fur of the cat with the
hair of the dog. How do they differ? If a cat chased her prey like the
dog do you think her fur would be a too warm covering?

10. Describe how the cat washes her face. How does she clean her
fur? How does her rough tongue help in this? How does the mother
cat wash her kittens?

11. How does a little kitten look when a day or two old? How long
before its eyes open ? How does the cat carry her kittens? How does a
kitten act when it is being carried ? How does the mother cat punish her
kittens ? How does she teach them to catch mice ? How do kittens play ?
How does the exercise they get in playing fit them to become hunters?

1 2 . How should cats be trained not to touch birds ? When must this
training begin ? Why should a person be punished for injury to the public
who takes cats to summer cottages and leaves them there to run wild?

13. Where in the room does puss best like to lie? How does she sun
herself? What herb does she like best? Does she like some people and
not others? What strange companions have you known a cat to have?
What is the cat's chief enemy? How should we care for and make her
comfortable?

14. Write or tell stories on the following subjects: (i) The things
which my pet cat does; (2) The AVild Cat; (3) The Lion; (4) The Tiger;
(5) The Leopard; (6) The Panther and the Mountain Lion; (7) The Lynx;
(8) The History of Domestic Cats; (9) The Different Races of Cats,
describing the Manx, the Persian and the Angora Cats.

Supplementary reading— The Life of Animals, Ingersoll; American
Animals, Stone and Cram; Our Domestic Animals, Burkett; The Fireside
Sphinx, Repplier; Concerning Cats, Winslow; The following animal
stories from St. Nicholas Magazine : Cat Stories, Lion and Tiger Stories,
Panther Stories.

Photo by Verne Morton

Mammal Study

275

Saaiien goats in Switzerland.

Peer, Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry,
U. S. Department of Agriculture.

THE GOAT

Teacher's Story

Little do we in America realize the close companionship that has ex-
isted in older countries, from time immemorial, between goats and people.
This association began when man was a nomad, and took with him in his
wanderings, his flocks, of which goats formed the larger part. He then
drank their milk, ate their flesh, wove their hair into raiment, or made
cloth of their pelts, and used their skins for water bags. Among peoples
of the East all these uses continue to the present day. In the streets of
Cairo, old Arabs may be seen with goat skins filled with water upon their
backs; and in any city of Western Asia or Southern Europe, flocks of
goats are driven along the streets to be milked in sight of the consumer.

In order to understand the goat's peculiarities of form and habit, we
should consider it as a wild animal, living upon the mountain heights amid
rocks and snow and scant vegetation. It is marvelously sure-footed and
when on its native mountains, it can climb the sharpest crags and leap
chasms. This peculiarity has been seized upon by showmen who often
exhibit goats which walk on the tight rope with ease, and even turn
themselves upon it without falling. The instinct for climbing still
lingers in the domestic breeds, and in the country the goat may be seen on
top of stone piles or other objects, while in city suburbs, its form may be
discerned on the roofs of shanties and stables.

It is a common saying that a goat will eat an\'thing, and much sport
is made of this peculiarity. This fact has more meaning for us Avhen we
realize that wild goats live in high altitudes, where there is little plant
life, and are therefore, obHged to find sustenance on lichens, moss and such
scant vegetation as thev can find.

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Handbook of Nature-Study

The goat is closely allied to the sheep, differing from it in only a few
particulars; its horns rise from the forehead curving over backward and
do not form a spiral like those of the ram; its covering is usually of hair,
and the male has a beard from which we get the name goatee; the goat
has no gland between the toes, and it does have a rank and disagreeable
odor. In a wild state, it usually lives a Httle higher up the mountains
than do the sheep, and it is a far more intelligent animal. Mary Austin
says : "Goats lead naturally by reason of a quicker instinct, forage more
freely and can find water on their own account, and give voice in case of
alarm. Goat leaders exhibit jealousy of their rights to be first over the
stepping-stones or to walk the teetering log bridges at the roaring creeks."
On the great plains, it is a common usage to place a few goats in a flock of
sheep, because of the greater sagacity of these animals as leaders, and also
as defenders in case of attack.

Goats' teeth are arranged for cropping herbage and especially for

browsing. There are six molar teeth on
each side of each jaw; there are eight
lower incisors and none above. The
goat's sense of smell is very acute; the
ears are movable and the sense of hear-

Zaraihi milch goats of Egypt.

Thompson Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry,

U. S. Department of Agriculture.

ingis keen; the eyes are full and very intelligent; the horns are some-
what flattened and angular and often knobbed somewhat in front, and
curve backward above the neck; they are, however, very efficient as
weapons of defence. The legs are strong, though not large, and are well
fitted for leaping and running. The feet have two hoofs, that is, the
animal walks upon two toe-nails. There are two smaller toes behind

Mammal Study

277

and above the hoofs. The goat can run with great rapidity. The tail
of the goat is short Hke that of the deer, and does not need to be ampu-
tated hke that of the sheep. Although the normal covering of the goat is
hair, there are some species which have a more or less woolly coat.
When angry the goat shakes its head, and defends itself by butting
with the head, also by striking with the horns, which are very sharp.
Goats are very tractable and make affectionate pets when treated with
kindness; they display far more affection for their owner than do sheep.
Our famous Rocky Mountain goat, although it belongs rather to the
antelope family, is a large animal, and is the special prize of the hunter;
however, it still holds its own in the high mountains of the Rocky and

JMilch goats in Malta.

Thompson. Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry,
Department of Agriculture.

Cascade Ranges. Both sexes have slender black horns, white hair, and
black feet, eyes and nose. Owen Wister says of this animal: "He is
white, all white, and shaggy, and twice as large as any goat you ever saw.
His white hair hangs long all over him like a Spitz dog's or an Angora
cat's; and against its shaggy white mass the blackness of his hoofs and
horns, and nose looks particularly black. His legs are thick, his neck is
thick, everything about him is thick, save only his thin black horns.
They're generally about six (often more than nine) inches long, they
spread very slightly, and they curve slightly backward. At their base
they are a little rough, but as they rise they become cylindrically smooth
and taper to an ugly point. His hoofs are heavy, broad and blunt. The
female is lighter than the male, and with horns more slender, a trifle.
And (to return to the question of diet) we visited the pasture where the
herd (of thirty-five) had been, and found no signs of grass growing or grass
eaten; there was no grass on that mountain. The only edible substance

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Handbook of Nature-Study

was a moss, tufted, stiff and dry to the touch. I also learned that the goat
is safe from predatory animals. With his impenetrable hide and his
disemboweling horns he is left by the wolves and mountain lions respect-
fully alone." (See American Animals, p. 57 ; Camp Fires of a Naturalist,
chapters VIII and XIII).

Milch Goats — Many breeds of these have been developed, and the
highest type is, perhaps, found in Switzerland. The Swiss farmers have
found the goat particularly adapted to their high mountains and have used
it extensively; thus, goats developed in the Saane and Toggenburg val-
leys have a world-wide reputation. Above these valleys the high moun-
tains are covered with perpetual snow, and winter sets in about Novem-
ber I St, lasting until the last of May. The goats are kept with the cows
in bams and fed upon hay; but as soon as the snow is gone from the val-
leys and the lower foot-hills, the cattle and goats are sent with the herders
and boy assistants, to the grazing grounds. A bell is put upon the cow
that leads the herd so as to keep it together and the boys, in their gay

peasant dresses, are as happy as
the playful calves and goats to get
out in the spring sunshine. The
herds follow the receding snows
up the mountains until about mid-
summer, when they reach the
high places of scanty vegetation;
then they start on the downward
journey, returning to the home
and stables about November ist.
The milk from goats is mixed with
that from cows to make cheese,
and this cheese has a wide reputa-
tion; some of the varieties are:
Roquefort, Schweitzer and Alten-
burger. Although the cheese is
excellent, the butter made from
goat's milk is quite inferior to
that made from the cow's. The
milk, when the animals are well
taken care of, is exceedingly
nourishing; it is thought to be the
best milk in the world for children.
Usually, the trouble with goat's
milk is, that the animals are not
kept clean nor is care taken in
milking. Germany has produced
many distinct and excellent breeds
of milch goats; the Island of
Malta, Spain, England, Ireland,
Egypt and Nubia have each
developed noted breeds. Of all
these, the Nubias give the most milk, sometimes yielding from four to six
quarts per day, while an ordinary goat is considered fairly good if it yields
two quarts per day.

Pooiia (India) goat.

Thompson. Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau

of Animal Industry, U. S. Department

of Agriculture.

Mammal Study

279

The Mohair Goats — There are two noted breeds of goats whose hair is
used extensively for weaving into fabrics; one of these is the Cashmere
and the other the Angora. The Cashmere goat has long, straight, silky
hair for an outside coat and has a winter under-coat of very delicate wool.
There are not more than two or three ounces of this wool upon one goat,
and this is made into the famous Cashmere shawls; ten goats furnish
barely enough of this wool for one shawl. The Cashmere goats are grown
most largely in Thibet, and the wool is shipped from the high tableland to
the Valley of Cashmere, and is made into shawls. It requires the work of
several people for a year to produce one of these famous shawls.

The Angora goat has a long, silky and very curly fleece. These goats
were first discovered in Angora, a city of Asia Minor south of the Black
Sea, and some 200 miles southeast from Constantinople. The Angora
goat is a beautiful and delicate animal, and furnishes most of the mohair,
which is made into the cloths known as mohair, alpaca, camel's hair and
many other fabrics. The Angora goat has been introduced into America,
in California, Texas, Arizona, and to some extent in the Middle West. It
promises to be a very profitable industry. (See Farmers' Bulletin No.
137, "The Angora Goat," United States Department of Agriculture.)

The skins of goats are used extensively; morocco, gloves and many
other articles are made from them. In the Orient, the skin of the goat is
used as a bag in which to carry water and wine.

References — American Animals, p. 55; Neighbors with Claws and
Hoofs, p. 190; Familiar Animals, pp. 169 and 183; Camp Fires of a
Naturalist, chapters VIII and XIII; Lives of Animals.

Angora goat.

Thompson, Twenty-first Annual Report Bureau of Animal Industry
U. S. Department of Agriculture.

2 So Handbook of Nature-Study

\ LESSON LXV

The Goat

Leading thought — Goats are among our most interesting domesticated
animals, and their history is closely interwoven with the history of the
development of civilization. In Europe, their milk is made into cheese
that has a world-wide fame; and from the hair of some of the species,
beautiful fabrics are woven. The goat is naturally an animal of the high
mountains.

MetJiod — A span of goats harnessed to a cart is second only to ponies,
in a child's estimation; therefore, the beginning of this lesson may well be
a span of goats thus employed. The lesson should not be given unless the
pupils have an opportunity for making direct observations on the animal's
appearance and habits. There shov:ld be some oral and written work in
English done with this lesson. Following are topics for such work:
"The Milch Goat of Switzerland," "How Cashmere Shawls are Made,"
"The Angora Goat," "The Chamois."

Observations — i . Do you think that goats like to climb to high points ?
Are they fitted to climb steep, inaccessible places? Can they jump off
Steep places in safety? How does it happen the goat is sure-footed?
How do its legs and feet compare with those of the sheep ?

2. What does the goat eat? Where does it find its natural food on
mountains? How are the teeth arranged for cutting its food? Does a
goat chew its cud like a cow?

3. What is the covering of the goat? Describe a billy-goat's beard.
Do you suppose this is for ornament? For what is goat's hair used?

4. Do you think the goat has a keen sense of sight, of hearing and of
smell? Why? Why did it need to be alert and keen when it lived wild
upon the mountains? Do you think the goat is intelligent? Give in-
stances of this?

5. Describe the honis. Do they differ from the horns of the sheep?
How does a goat fight? Does he strike head on, like the sheep, or side-
wise? How does he show anger?

6. What noises does a goat make? Do you understand what they
mean?

7. Describe the goat, its looks and actions. Is the goat's tail short at
first or does it have to be cut off like the lamb's tail? Where and how is
goat's milk used? AVhat kinds of cheese are made from it? For what is
its skin used? Is its flesh evr eaten?

Everyone knows the gayety of young kids, which prompts them to cut the most
amusing and burlesque capers. The goat is naturally capricious and inquisitive, and
one might say crazy for every species of adventure . It positively delights in perilous
ascensions. At times it will rear a)id threaten you with its head and horns, apparently,
with the worst intentions, whereas it is usually an invitation to play. The bucks,
however, fight violently with each other; they seem, to have no consciousness of the most
terrible blows. The ewes themselves arc Jiot exempt from this vice.

They knoiu very well whether or not they have deserved punishment. Drive them
out of the garden, where they are forbidden to go, with a whip and they will flee
without uttering a sound; but strike them without just cause and they will send forth
lam-entable cries.

Charles William Burkett ix "Our Domes'Iic Animals."

Mammal Sttidy

281

A Sicilian shepherd.
Photo by J. H. Comstock.

THE SHEEP

Teacher's Story

"The earliest important achievement oj ovine intelligence is to kncoj whether its own
notion or another's is most worth while, and if the other's, which one? Individual
sheep have certain qualities, instincts, competences, but in the man-herded flocks these
are superseded by something which I shall call the flock mind, though I cannot say very
well what it is, except that it is less than the sum of all their intelligences. This is why
there have never been any notable changes in the management of flocks since the flrst
herder girt himself with a wallet of sheep-skin and went out of his cave-dwelling to the
pastures."— "The Flock," by Mary Austin.

Both sheep and goats are at home on mountains, and sheep especially,
thrive best in cool, dry locations. As wild animals, they were creatures
of the mountain crag and chasm, although they frequented more open
places than the' mountain goats, and their wool was developed to protect
them from the bitter cold of high altitudes. They naturally gathered in
flocks, and sentinels were set to give warning of the approach of danger;
as soon as the signal came, they made their escape, not in the straight
away race like the deer, but in following the leader over rock, ledge and
precipice to mountain fastnesses where wolf nor bear could follow. Thus,
the instinct of following the leader blindly, came to be the salvation of the
individual sheep.

The teeth of the sheep are like those of the goat, eight incisors below
and none on the upper row, and six grinding teeth at the back of each side

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of each jaw. This arrangement of teeth on the small, delicate, pointed
jaws enables the sheep to crop herbage where cattle would starve ; it can
cut the small grass off at its roots, and for this reason, where vast herds of
sheep range, they leave a desert behind them. This fact brought about a
bitter feud between the cattle and sheep men in the far West. In forests,
flocks of sheep completely kill all underbrush, and now they are not per-
mitted to run in government reserves.

The sheep's legs are short and delicate below the ankle. The upper
portion is greatly developed to help the animal in leaping, a peculiarity to
which we owe the "leg of lamb" as a table delicacy. The hoof is cloven,
that is, the sheep walks upOi"< two toes; it has two smaller toes above and
behind these. There is a little gland between the front toes which secretes

A sheep of pedigree, Shropshire ram.

an oily substance, which perhaps serves in preventing the hoof from
becoming too dry. The ears are large and are moved to catch better the
direction of sound. The eyes are peculiar; in the sunlight the pupil is a
mere slit, while the iris is yellow or brownish, but in the dark, even of the
stable, the pupils enlarge, almost covering the eye. The ewes either lack
horns or have small ones, but the horns of wild rams are large, placed at the
side of the head and curled outward in a spiral. These honis are perhaps
not so much for fighting the enemy as for rival rams. The ram can strike
a hard blow with head and horns, coming at the foe head on, while the
goat always strikes sidewise. So fierce is the blow of the angry sheep, that
an ancient instrument of war was fashioned like a ram's head and used to
knock down walls, and was called a battering ram. A sheep shows anger
by stamping the ground with the front feet. The habit of rumination
enables the sheep to feed in a flock and then retire to some place to rest
and chew the cud, a performance peculiarly funny in the sheep.

Mammal Study

283

Sheep under attack and danger are silent; ordinarily they keep up a
constant, gentle bleating to keep each other informed of their where-
abouts; they also give a peculiar call when water is discovered, and
another to inform the flock that there is a stranger in the midst; they also
give a peculiar bleat, when a snake or other enemy which they conquer, is
observed. Their sense of smell is very acute. Mary Austin says,
"Young lambs are principally legs, the connecting body being simply a
contrivance for converting milk into more leg, so you understand how it is
that they will follow the flock in two days and are able to take the trail in
a fortnight, traveling four and five miles a day, falling asleep on their feet
and tottering forward in the way."

The older lambs have games which
they play untiringly, and which fit
them to become active members of the
flock; one, is the regular game of
"Follow My Leader," each lamb
striving to push ahead and attain
the place of leader. In playing this
the head lamb leads the chase over
most difficult places, such as logs,
stones and across brooks; thus is a
training begun which later in life may
save the flock. The other game is
peculiar to stony pastures; a lamb
climbs to the top of a boulder and its
comrades gather around and try to
butt it off; the one which succeeds in
doing this, climbs the rock and is "it
sure-footedness

: Ji

^ rWi

If.:-.

r :

!^^^':'S

Mutual contentment.

This game leads to agility and
A lamb's tail is long and is most expressive of lambkin
bliss, when feeding time comes; but, alas! it has to be cut off so that later
it will not become matted with burrs and filth. In southern Russia there
is a breed of sheep with large, flat, fat tails which are esteemed as
a great table delicacy. This tail becomes so cumbersome that wheels
are placed beneath it, so that it trundles along behind its owner.

We have a noble species of wild sheep in the Rocky Mountains
which is Hkely to become extinct soon. The different breeds of
domesticated sheep are supposed to have been derived from different
wild species. Of the domesticated varieties, we have the ^ Merinos
which originated in Spain and which give beautiful, long, fine \yool
for our fabrics; but their flesh is not very attractive. The Merinos
have wool on their faces and legs and have wrinkled skins. The English
breeds of sheep have been especially developed for mutton, although
their wool is valuable. Some of these like the Southdo\vn, Shro[)shire,
and Dorset, give a medium length of wool, while the Cotswold has
very long wool, the ewes having long strings of wool over their eyes
in the fashion of "bangs."

The dog, as descended from the wolf, is the ancient enemy of sheep;
and even now after hundreds of years of domestication, some_ of our
dogs will revert to savagery and chase and kill sheep. This, in fact,
has been one of the great drawbacks to sheep raising in the (Eastern
United States. The collie, or sheep-dog, has been bred so many years as
the special care-taker of sheep, that a beautiful relationship has been

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Handbook of Nature-Study

established between these dogs and their flocks. For instances of this,
read the chapter on sheep-dogs in A Country Reader; "Wully" in Wild
Animals I Have Known, and "Bob, Son of Battle."

LESSON LXVI
The Sheep

Leading tliought — Sheep live naturally in high altitudes. AVhen
attacked by enemies, they follow their leader over difficult and dangerous
mountain places.

Method — The questions of this lesson should be given to the pupils and
the observations should be made upon the sheep in pasture or stable.
Much written work may be done in connection with this lesson. The
following topics are suggested for themes : "The Methods by which Wool
is Made into Cloth," "The Rocky Mountain Sheep," "The Sheep-herders
of California and their Flocks," "The True Story of a Cosset Lamb."

Horned Dorset ram.

Observations — i. What is the chief character that separates sheep
from other animals? What is the difference between wool and hair?
Why is wool of special use to sheep in their native haunts? Is there any
hair on sheep?

2. Where do the wild sheep live? What is the climate in these
places? Does wool serve them well on this account? What sort of
pasturage do sheep find on mountains? Could cows live where sheep
thrive? Describe the sheep's teeth and how they are arranged to enable
it to crop vegetation closely? What happens to the vegetation on the
range, when a great flock of sheep passes over it? Why are sheep not
allowed in our forest preserves?

Mammal Study 285

3. What are the chief enemies of sheep in the wilderness? How do
the sheep escape them? Describe the foot and leg of the sheep and
explain how they help the animal to escape its enemies. We say of cer-
tain men that they "follow hke a flock of sheep." Why do we make this
comparison ? What has this habit of following the leader to do with the
escape of sheep from wolves and bears?

4. How do sheep fight? Do both rams and ewes have horns? Do
they both fight ? How does the sheep show anger ? Give your experience
with a cross cosset lamb.

5. Do you think that sheep can see and hear well? What is the posi-
tion of the sheep's ears when it is peaceful? When there is danger?
How do the sheep's eyes differ from those of the cow?

6. Does the sheep chew its cud like the cow? Describe the actionas
performed by the sheep. How is this habit of cud chewing of use to the
wild sheep?

7. Describe a young lamb. Why has it such long legs? How do es
it use its tail to express joy? What happens to this tail later? What
games have you seen lambs play? Tell all the stories of lambs that you
know.

8. How much of sheep language do you understand? What is the
use to the wild flock of the constant bleating?

9. For what purposes do we keep sheep? How many breeds of
sheep do you know? What are the chief difterences between the English
breeds and the Merinos? Where and for what purposes is the milk of
sheep used?

10. Have you ever seen a collie looking after a herd of sheep? If so,
describe his actions. Did you ever know of dogs killing sheep ? At what
time of day or night was this done? Did you ever know of one dog
attacking a flock of sheep alone. What is there in the dog's ancestry
which makes two or three dogs, when hunting, give chase and attack
sheep?

li^^^

^^^Hp '

'"^V

^-^^__^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^f^-^^^^^^^^^^M

Photo by Gerrit Miller

286

Handbook of Nature-Study

.■»«*K :->

A herd of poiiic:^ in the Isle of Shetland guarded by a sheep-dog.

THE HORSE

Teacher's Story

"There was once a little animal r.o bigger than a fox.
And on five toes he scrambled over Tertiary rocks.
They called him Eokippus, and tkey called him very small.
And they thought him of no value when they thotight of him at all.

Said the little Eohippns, I am going to be a horse!
And on my middle finger nails to run my earthly course!
I am going to have a flowing tail! I am going to have a mane!
And I am going to stand fourteen hands high on the Psychozooic plain!'^

— Mrs. Stetson.

It was some millions of years ago, that Eohippus lived out in the
Rocky Mountain Range; its fore feet had four toes and the splint of the
fifth ; the hind feet had three toes and the splint of the fourth. Eohippus
wasfolloweddown the geologic ages by the Orohippus and the Mesohippus
and various other hippuses, which showed in each age a successive enlarge-
ment and specialization of the middle toe and the minimizing and final
loss of the others. This first little horse with many toes, lived when the
earth was a damp, warm place and when animals needed toes to spread
out to prevent them from miring in the mud. But as the ages went on,
the earth grew colder and drier, and a long leg ending in a single hoof, was
very serviceable in running swiftly over the dry plains; and according to
the story read in the fossils of the rocks, our little American horses
migrated to South America; and also trotted dry-shod over to Asia in
the Mid-pleocine age, arriving there sufficiently early to become the com-
panion of prehistoric man. In the meantime, horses were first hunted by

Mammal Study

287

savage man for theii
flesh, but were later
ridden. At present,
there are wild horses
in herds on the plains
of Tartary; and there
are still sporadic herds
of mustangs on the
great plains of our
own country, although
for the most part, they
are branded and be-
long to someone, even
though they live like
wild horses; these
American wild horses
are supposed to be
descendents of those
brought over centu-
ries ago by the Span-
iards. The Shetland Four-toed horse of the Eocene period.
ponies are also wild ^'^r Charles R. Knight.

in the islands north of Scotland, and the zebras roam the plains of Africa
the most truly wild of all. In a state of wildness, there is always a stal-
lion at the head of a herd of mares, and he has to win his position and keep
it by superior strength and prowess. Fights between stallions are terrible
to witness, and often result in the death of one of the participants. The
horse is well armed for battle; his powerful teeth can inflict deep wounds
and he can kick and strike hard with the front feet ; still more efficient
is the kick made with both hind feet while the weight of the body is borne
on the front feet, and the head of the horse is turned so as to aim well the
terrible blow. There are no wild beasts of prey which will not slink away
to avoid a herd of horses. After attaining their gro^\1:h in the herd with
their mothers, the young males are forced by the leader to leave and go off
by themselves; in turn, they must by their own strength and attractions,
win their following of mares. However, there are times and places where
many of these herds join, making large bands wandering together.

The length of the horse's leg was evidently evolved to meet the need
for flight before fierce and swift enemies, on the great ancient plains.
The one toe, with its strong, sharp hoof, makes a fit foot for such a long
leg, since it strikes the ground with little waste of energ}' and is sharp
enough not to slip, but it is not a good foot for marshy places ; a horse will
mire where a cow can pass in safety. The development of the middle toe
into a hoof results in lifting the heel and wrist far up the leg, making them
appear to be the knee and elbow, when compared with the human body.

The length of neck and head are necessary in order that an animal,
with such length of leg as the horse, may be able to graze. The head of
the horse tells much of its disposition ; a perfect head should be not too
large, broad between the eyes and high between the ears, while below the
eyes, it should be narrow. The ears, if lopped or turned back, denote a
treacherous disposition. They should point upward or forward; the ears
laid back is always a sign that the horse is angry; sensitive, quick-moving

288

Hatuibook of Nature-Study

ears indicate a high-strung, sensitive animal. The e^^es are placed so
that the horse can see in front, at the side and behind, the last being

necessary in order to aim a kick. Hazel
eyes are usually preferred to dark ones,
and they should be bright and prominent.
The nostrils should be thin-skinned, wide-
flaring and sensitive; as a wild animal,
scent was one of the horse's chief aids in
detecting the enemy. The lips should
not be too thick and the lower jaw should
be narrow where it joins the head.

The horse's teeth are peculiar; there
are six incisors on both jaws; behind them
,, _ is a bare space called the bar, of

w^hich we have made use for
placing the bit. Back of the
bar, there are six molars or
grinders on each side of each jaw. At the age of about three
years, canine teeth or tushes appear behind the incisors; these are
more noticeable in males, and never seem to be of much use.
Thus, the horse has on each jaw, when full-grown, six incisors, two
canines, and twelve molars, making forty teeth in all. The incisors are
prominent and enable the horse to bite the grass more closely than can
the cow. The horse when chewing, does not have the sidewise motion of
the jaws peculiar to the cow and sheep.

The horse's coat is, when rightly cared for, glossy and beautiful; but
if the horse is allowed to run out in the pasture all winter, the coat becomes
very shaggy, thus reverting to the condition of wild horses which stand in
need of a warmer coat for winter; the hair is shed every year. The
mane and the forelock are useful in protecting the head and neck from
flies; the tail is also an efficient fly-brush. Although the mane and tail

Hoofs of horses from earliest ages to the present time,
arranged in pairs, hind and front.

Mammal Study

289

have thus a practical value, they add greatly to the animal's beauty. To
dock a horse's tail as an ornament is as absurd as the sliced ears and welted
cheeks of savages; and horses thus mutilated suffer greatly from the
attacks of flies.

Owing to the fact that wild horses made swift flight from enemies, the
colts could not be left behind at the mercy of wolves. Thus it is, the colt
like the lamb, is equipped with long legs from the first, and can run very
rapidly; as a runner, it could not be loaded with a big compound stomach
full of food, like the calf, and therefore, must needs take its nourishment
from the mother often. The colt's legs are so long that, in order to graze,
it spreads the front legs wide apart in order that it may reach the grass
with its mouth. When the colt or the horse lies down out of doors and in
perfect freedom, it lies flat upon the side. In lying down, the hind quar-
ters go first, and in rising, the front legs are thrust out first.

English draft-hone.

The horse has several natural gaits and some that are artificial. Its
natural methods of progression are the walk, the trot, the amble, the
gallop. When walking there are always two or more feet on the ground
and the movement of the feet consists in placing successively the right
hind foot, the right fore foot, left hind foot, left fore foot, right hind foot,
etc. In trotting, each diagonal pair of legs is alternately lifted and thrust
forward, the horse being unsupported twice during each stride. In
ambling, the feet are moved as in the walk, only differing in that a hind
foot or a fore foot is lifted from the ground, before its fellow fore foot or
hind foot is set down. In a canter, the feet are landed on the ground in
the same sequence as a walk but much more rapidly; and in the gallop,
the spring is made from the fore foot and the landing is on the diagonal
hind foot and just before landing, the body is in the air and the legs are all
bent beneath it.

290

Ha)idbook of Nature-Study

An excellent horseman once said to me, "The whip may teach a horse
to obey the voice, but the voice and hand control the well-broken horse,"
and this epitomizes the best horse training. He also said, "The horse
knows a great deal, but he is too nervous to make use of his knowledge
when he needs it most. It is the horse's feelings that I rely on. He
always has the use of his feelings and the quick use of them." It is a
well-known fact that those men who whip and scold and swear at their
horses, are meantime showing to the world that they are fools in this
particular business. Many of the qualities which we do not like in our
domesticated horses, were most excellent and useful when the horses were
wild, for instance, the habit of shying was the wild horse's method of
escaping the crouching foe in the grass. This habit as well as many others

Saddle-Iiorse.

is best controlled by the voice of the driver instead of a blow from the
whip.

Timothy hay, or hay mixed with clover, form good, bulky food for the
horse, and oats and com are the best concentrated food. Oats are best for
driving-horses and com for the working team. Dusty hay should not be
fed to a horse; but if unavoidable, it should always be dampened before
feeding. A horse should be fed with regularity, and should not be used
for a short time after having eaten. If the horse is not warm, it should
be watered before feeding, and in the winter the water should have the
chill taken off. The frozen bit should be warmed before being placed in
the horse's mouth; if anyone doubts the wisdom of this, let him put a
frozen piece of steel in his own mouth. The tight-drawn, cruel use of the
over check-rein should not be permitted, although a moderate check is
often needed and is not cruel. When the horse is sweating, it should be
blanketed immediately if hitched outside in cold weather; but in the
bam, the blanket should not be put on until the perspiration has stopped
steaming. The grooming of a horse is a part of its rights, and its legs
should receive more attention during this process than its body, a fact
not always well understood.

The breeds of horses may always be classified more or less distinctly as
follows: Racers or thoroughbreds, the saddle-horse, or hunter; the

Mammal Study . 291

coach-horse; the draft -horse and the pony. For a description of breeds
see dictionaries or cyclopedias. Of the draft-horses, the Percherons,
Shires and Clydesdales are most common; of the carriage and coach-
horses, the English hackney and the French and German coach-horses are
famed examples. Of the roadster breeds, the American trotter, the
American saddle-horse and the English thoroughbred are most famous.

A good coacher.

LESSON LXVII
The Horse

Leading thought — The horse as a wild animal depended largely upon
its strength and fleetness to escape its enemies, and these two qualities
have made it of greatest use to man.

Method — Begin this study of the horse with the stories of wild horses.
"The Pacing Mustang" in Wild Animals I Have Known, is an excellent
story to show the habits of the herds of wild horses; Chapter first in A
Country Reader and the story of horses in Life of Animals are excellent as
a basis for study. Before beginning actual study of the domestic horses,
ask for oral or written English exercises descriptive of the lives of the
wild horses. Get Remington's pictures illustrating the wild horses of
America. After the interest has been thus aroused the following observa-
tions may be suggested, a few at a time, to be made incidentally in the
street or in the stable.

Observations — i. Compare the length of the legs of the horse with its
height. Has any other domestic animal legs as long in proportion?
What habits of the ancestral wild horses led to the development of such
long legs? Do you think the length of the horse's neck and head corre-
spond to the length of its legs? Why?

292

Handbook of Nature-Study

2. Study the horse's leg and foot. The horse walks on one toe.
Which toe do you think it is? What do we call the toe-nail of the horse?
What advantage is this sort of a foot to the horse? Is it best fitted for
running on dry plains or for marshy land? Does the hoof grow as our
nails do? Do you know whether there were ever any horses with three
toes or four toes on each foot? Make a sketch of the horse's front and
hind leg and label those places which correspond to our wrist, elbow,
shoulder, hand, heel, knee and hip.

3. Where are the horse's ears placed on the head? How do they
move? Do they flap back and forth like the cow's ears when they are
moved, or do they turn as if on a pivot? What do the following different
positions of the horse's ears indicate : When lifted and pointing forward ?
When thrown back? Can you tell by the action of the ears whether a
horse is nervous and high-strung or not?

4. What is the color of the horse's eyes? The shape of the pupil?
What advantage does the position of the eyes on the head give to the wild
horse? Why do we put blinders on a horse? Can you tell by the expres-
sion of the eye the temper of the horse?

5. Look at the mouth and nose. Are the nostrils large and flaring?
Has the horse a keen sense of smell? Are the lips thick or thin ? When
taking sugar from the hand, does the horse use teeth or lips?

6. Describe the horse's teeth. How many front teeth ? How many
back teeth? Describe the bar where the bit is placed. Are there any

PALO ALTO IN fS92.

"Palo Alio', a famous ntituiHi; horse.

Mammal Study 293

canine teeth ? If so, where ? Do you know how to tell a horse's age by
its teeth? (See Elements of Agriculture, Warren, page 304, and The
Horse, Roberts, page 246.) Can a horse graze the grass more closely
than a cow? Why? When it chews does it move the jaws sidewise like
the cow? Why? Why did the wild horses not need to develop a cud-
chewing habit?

7. W^hat is the nature of the horse's coat in summer? If the horse
runs in the pasture all winter, how does its coat change? When does the
horse shed its coat? What is the use of the horse's mane, forelock and
tail? Do you think it is treating the horse well to dock its tail?

8. Why do colts need to be so long-legged? How does a colt have
to place its front legs in order to reach down and eat the grass? Does the
colt need to take its food from the mother often? How does it differ
from the calf in this respect? How has this difference of habit resulted
in a difference of form in the calf and colt?

9. When the horse lies down which part goes down first? When
getting up which rises first? How does this differ from the method of the
cow? When the horse lies down to sleep does it have its legs partially
under it like the cow?

10. In walking which leg moves first? Second? Third? Fourth?
How many gaits has the horse? Describe as well as you can all of these
gaits. (See pictures illustrating the word "movement" in the Standard
Dictionary.)

11. Make a sketch of a horse showing the parts. (See Webster's
Unabridged). When we say a horse is fourteen hands high what do v/e
mean?

12. In fighting, what weapons does the horse use and how?

13. In training a horse, should the voice or the whip be used the
most? What qualities should a man have to be a good horse trainer?
Why is shying a good quality in wild horses ? How should it be dealt with
in the domestic horse?

14. W^hat sort of feed is best for the horse? How and when should
the horse be watered? Should the water be warmed in cold weather?
Why? Should the bit be warmed in winter before putting it in a horse's
mouth? Why? Should a tight over check-rein be used when driving?
W^hy? When the horse has been driven until it is sweating what are the
rules for blanketing it when hitched out of doors and when hitched in the
barn? What is your opinion of a man who lets his horse stand waiting in
the cold, unblanketed in the village street. If horses were kept out of
doors all the time would this treatment be so cruel and dangerous ? Why ?
Why should dusty hay be dampened before it is fed to a horse? Why
should a horse be groomed? Which should receive the most attention,
the legs or the body?

15. How many breeds of horses do you know? What is the use of
each? Describe as well as you can the characteristics of the following
breeds: The thoroughbred, the hackney, and other coach-horses; the
American trotter, the Percheron, the Clydesdale.

16. Write English themes on the following subjects: "The Pre-
historic Horses of America," "The Arabian Horse and Its Life With Its
Master," "The Bronchos and Mustangs of the West," "The Wild Horses
of Tartary," "The Zebras of Africa." "The Shetland Ponies and the
Islands on Which Thev Run Wild."

294 Handbook of Nature-Study

Supplementary reading — The Horse, Roberts; Elements of Agricul-
ture, Warren; Life of Animals, Cram; Neighbors with Claws and Hoofs;
A Country Reader; Agriculture for Beginners; Black Beauty; John
Brent, by Theodore Withrop; Half Hours with Mammals, Holder;
Chapters on Animals, Hammerton; "Kaweah's Run" in Claws and
Hoofs.

^^ff

Many horses shy a good deal at objects they meet on the road. This mostly arises
from nervousness, because the objects are not famtliar to them. Therefore, to cure the
habit, you must get your horse accustomed to what he sees, and so give him confidence.
. Be careful never to stop a horse that is drawing a vehicle or load in the middle
of a hill, except for a rest; and if for a rest, draw him across the hill and place a big
stone behind the wheel, so that the strain on the shoidder may be eased. Unless abso-
lutely necessary never stop a horse on a hill or in a rut, so that when he starts again it
means a heavy tug. Many a horse has been made a jibber and his temper spoilt by
not observing this ride.

— H. B. M. Buchanan in "A Country Reader."

Mammal Study

295

■%iiL.

•?'X'

^XSfcl/ -^ ' " '■*r^

TZ/f original wild cattle of America.
Photo by John L. Rich.

CATTLE
Teacher's Story

That in numbers there is safety, is a basic principle in the Hves of
wild cattle, probably because their chief enemies, the wolves, hunted in
packs. It has often been related that, when the herd is attacked by
wolves, the calves are placed at the center of the circle made by the cattle,
standing with heads out and horns ready for attack from every quarter.
But when a single animal, like a bear or tiger, attacks any of the herd,
they all gather around it in a narrowing circle of clashing horns, and
many of these great beasts of prey have thus met their death. The cow
is as formidable as the bull to the enemv, since her horns are strong and
sharp and she tosses her victim, unless it is too large. The heavy head,
neck and short massive horns of the bull, are not so much for defence
against enemies as against rival bulls. The bull not only tosses and gores
his victim, but kneels or tramples upon it. Both have effective weapons
of defence in the hind feet, which kick powerfully. The buffalo bull of
India will attack a tiger single handed, and usually successfully. It is a
strange thing that all cattle are driven mad by the smell of blood, and
weird stories are told of the stampeding of herds from this cause, on the
plains of our great West.

Cattle are essentially grass and herbage eaters, and their teeth are
peculiarly arranged for this. There are eight front teeth on the lower
jaw, and a homy pad opposite them on the upper jaw. Back of these on
each jaw there is a bare place and six grinding teeth on each side. As a
cow crops the herbage, her head is moved up and down to aid in severing
the leaves, and the peculiar sound of the tearing of the leaves thus made
is not soon forgotten by those who have heard it. In the wild or domes-
ticated state the habit of cud-chewing is this : The cattle graze in morn-
ings and evenings, swallowing the food as fast as cropped, and storing it

296

Course of food -in a

cow's stomach.

I, niminant stomach; II, where

the cud-balls are formed;

III. IV, true stomachs,

mother; the young
for a long journey;

and will

stir unless

touched.

mother is

to be absent

a
"frozen"
never
actually
As the
obliged
for some time grazing
with the herd, the
calf is obliged to go
without nourishment
for a number of hours,
and so it is provided
with a large compound
stomach which, if filled
twice per day, suffices
to insure health and
growth. The cow, on
the other hand, giv-
ing her milk out only
twice per day, needs a
large udder in which
to store it. The size
of the udder is what
has made the cow
useful to us as a milch
animal.

A fine cow is a
beautiful creature, her
soft yellow skin be-
neath the sleek coat
of short hair, the well
proportioned body,
the mild face, crowned
with spreading,
polished horns and
illuminated with large
gentle eyes, are all

Handbook of Nature-Study

in their ruminating stomachs. During the
heat of the day, they move to the shade,
preferably to the shady banks of streams,
and there in quiet the food is brought
up, a small portion at a time, and chewed with
a peculiar sidewise movement of the jaws and
then swahowed, passing to the true stomach.
There is probably no more perfect picture of
utter contentment, than a herd of cows chewing

■ their cuds in the shade, or standing knee-deep
in the cool stream on a summer's day. The
cattle in a herd when grazing, keep abreast and
move along, heads in the same direction.

Connected with the grazing habit, is that of

the hiding of the new-bom calf by its

calf is a wabbly creature and ill-fitted

so the mother hides it, and there it stays

<i«-- •:•;,.
■"'.?'•

A pet Holstein.

Mammal Study 297

elements of beauty which artists have recognized, especially those
of the Dutch school. The ancients also admired bovine eyes, and
called their most beautiful goddess the ox-eyed Juno.

The cow's ears can be turned in any direction, and her sense of hearing
is keen; so is her sense of smell, aided by the moist, sensitive skin of the
nose; she always snififs danger and also thus tests her food. Although a
cow if well kept has a sleek coat, when she is allowed to run out of doors
during the winter, her hair grows long and shaggy as a protection. The
cow walks on two toes, or as we say has a split hoof. She has two lesser
toes above and behind the hoofs which we call dew-claws. The part of
her leg which seems at first glance to be her knee, is really her wrist or
ankle. Although short-legged, the cow is a good runner, as those who
have chased her can bear witness. She can walk, gallop and has a pacing
trot; she is a remarkable jumper, often taking a fence like a deer; she
also has marvelous powers as a swimmer, a case being on record where a
cow swam five miles. But a cow would be illy equipped for comfort if it
were not for her peculiar tail, which is made after the most approved
pattern of fly-brushes, and is thus used. Woe betide the fly she hits with
it, if the blow is as efficient as that which she incidentally bestows on the
head of the milker. It is to get rid of flies, that the cattle, and especially
the buffaloes, wallow in the mud, and thus coat themselves with a fly-
proof armor.

There is a fairly extensive range of emotions expressed in cattle
language, from the sullen bellow of the angry animal to the lowing which
is the call of the herd, and the mooing which is meant for the calf; and
there are many other bellowings and mutterings which we can partially
understand.

Every herd of cows has its leader, which has won the position by fair
fight. Add a new cow to the herd, and there is at once a trial of strength,
to adjust her to her proper place; and in a herd of cows, the leader leads;
she goes first and no one may say her nay. In fact, each member of the
herd has her place in it; and that is why it is so easy to teach cows each
to take her own stanchion in the stable. In a herd of forty cows which I
knew, each cow took her stanchion, no matter in what order vShe happened
to enter the stable.

A cow at play is a funny sight; her tail is lifted aloft like a pennant and
she kicks as lightly as if she were made of rubber. She is also a sure-
footed beast, as anvone can attest who has seen her nmning down the
rocky mountain sides of the Alps, at a headlong pace and never making a
mistake. In lying down, the cow first kneels with the front legs, or
rather drops on her wrists, and then the hind quarters go down, and then
the front follow. She does not lie flat on her side when resting, like the
horse when at ease, but with her legs partially under her. In getting up,
she rests upon her wrists and then lifts the hind quarters.

TJw Usefulness of Cattle

When man emerged from the savage state, his first step toward civili-
zation was domesticating wild animals and training them for his own use.
During the nomad stage, when tribes wandered over the face of the
earth, they took their cattle along. From the first, these animals have
been used in three capacities : First, for carrying burdens and as draught

298

Hafidbook of Nature-Study

animals; second, as meat; third, as givers of milk. They were also used
in the earlier ages as sacrifices to the various deities, and in Egypt, some
were held as sacred.

As beasts of burden and draft animals, oxen are still used in many
parts of the United States. For logging, especially in pioneer days, oxen
were far more valuable than horses. They are patient and will pull a few
inches at a time, if necessary, a tedious work which the nervous horse
refuses to endure. Cows too, have been used as draft animals, and are so
used in China today, where they do most of the plowing; in these oriental
countries milk is not consumed to any extent, so the cow is kept for the
work she can do. In ancient times in the East, white oxen formed a part
of royal processions.

Uctj cattle.

Because of two main uses of cattle by civilized man, he has bred them
in two directions; one for producing beef, and one for milk. The beef
cattle are chiefly Aberdeen-Angus, Galloway, Short-horn or Durham, and
Hereford; the dairy breeds are the Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, Holstein-
Frisian and Brown Swiss. The beef animal is, in cross-section, approxi-
mately like a brick set sidewise. It should be big and full across the loins
and back, the shoulders and hips covered heavily with flesh, the legs stout,
the neck thick and short, and the face short; the line of the back is
straight, and the stomach line parallel with it. Very different is the
appearance of the milch cow. Her body is oval, instead of being approxi-
mately square in cross-section. The outline of her back is not straight,

Mammal Stiidy 299

but sags in front of the hips, which are prominent and bony. The
shoulders have Httle flesh on them; and if looked at from above, her body-
is wedge-shaped, widening from shoulders backward. The stomach line
is not parallel with the back bone, but slants downward from the shoulder
to the udder. The following are the points that indicate a good milch
cow: Head high between the eyes, showing large air passages and
indicating strong lungs. Eyes clear, large and placid, indicating good
disposition. Mouth large, with a muscular lower jaw, showing ability to
chew efficiently and rapidly. Neck, thin and fine, showing veins through
the skin. Chest deep and wide, showing plenty of room for heart and
lungs. Abdomen, large but well supported, and increasing in size toward
the rear. Ribs, well spread, not meeting the spine like the peak of a roof,
but the spine must be prominent, revealing to the touch the separate
vertebrae. Hips, much broader than the shoulders. Udder, large, the
four quarters of equal size, and not fat; the "milk veins" which carry
the blood from the udder should be large and crooked, passing into the
abdomen through large openings. Skin, soft, pliable and covered with
fine, oily hair. She should have good digestion and great powers of
assimilation. The milch cow is a milk-making machine, and the more
fuel (food) she can use, the greater her production.

The physiological habits of the beef and milch cattle have been
changed as much as their structure. The food given to the beef cow goes
to make flesh; while that given to the milch cow goes to make milk,
however abundant her food. Of course, there are all grades between the
beef and the milch types, for many farmers use dual herds for both.
However, if a farmer is producing milk it pays him well to get the best
possible machine to make it, and that is always a cow of the right type.

A Geography Lesson

All the best breeds of cattle have been evolved in the British Isles and
in Europe north of Italy and west of Russia. All our domesticated cattle
were developed from wild cattle of Europe and Asia. The cattle which
roam in our rapidly narrowing grazing lands of the far West are European
cattle. America had no wild cattle except the bison. In geography
supplementary readers, read about Scotland, England, the Channel
Islands, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland and the dift'erent kinds
of cattle developed in these countries; for example, "A Holland Dairy,"
in Northern Europe, Ginn & Co.

How to Produce Good Milk

There are three main ingredients of milk — fat, curd and ash. The
fat is for the purpose of supplying the animal with fat and we make it into
butter; the curd supplies muscle, or the lean meat of the animal, and
is the main ingredient of cheese, although cheese to be good should con-
tain a full amount of butter fat; the ash which may be seen as residue
when milk is evaporated, builds up the bone of the animal. The best
butter cows are those which give a larger per cent, of fat and a small
per cent, of curd, like the Jerseys; the best cheese cows are those
which give a fair per cent, of fat and a larger yield of curd, like the
Ayrshire and Holstein.

300

Handbook of Nature-Study

A cow for producing cheese, is not profitable, unless she gives seven
thousand pounds of milk per year; a butter cow, a Jersey for instance,
should produce five thousand pounds of milk per year to be really
profitable.

The stable where milch cows are kept should be thoroughly cleaned
before each milking, and should be swept each day; the cows' udders
should be brushed, and the milkers should wear clean aprons and should
wash their hands before milking. Milk should never be strained in the
bam, but in some place where the air is fresh. If milk is perfectly clean,
it will keep sweet much longer; sterilized milk put in bottles will keep
sweet for weeks and even months. Loud talking should not be permitted
in the stables while the cows are being milked, and each cow should be
milked by the same person for the entire season.

^Cr^:

TJie perfect milch type.

Milk to be legally sold in New York State must possess three per cent,
of butter fat. For upper grades or first year work in the high school,
there could not be a more profitable exercise than teaching the pupils the
use of the Babcock milk tester.

The Care of the Milch Cow

The importance cannot be over-estimated of teaching the pupils in
rural districts, the proper care of milch cattle for the production of milk.
The milch cow is a perfect machine, and should be regarded as such in
producing milk. First, she should have plenty of food of the right kind,
that is, a w^ll-balanced ration. Second, she should have a warm, clean
stable and be siipplied with plenty of good, fresh air. A cold stable
makes it necessary to provide much more food for the cow; a case on
record shows that when a bam was opened up in cold weather for neces-
sary repairing, the amount of milk from the cows stabled in it, decreased
ten per cent, in twenty-four hours. There should be a protected place for

Mammal Study 301

drinking, if the cattle must be turned out of the bam for water in winter;
it is far better to have the water piped into the bam, although the herd
should be given a few hours each day in the open air. A dog should
never be used for driving cows. To be profitable, a cow should give milk
ten months of the year at least. Calves should be dehorned when they
are a few days old by putting caustic potash on the budding horns, thus
obviating the danger of damaging the cow by dehorning.

In a properly run dairy, a pair of scales stands near the can for receiv-
ing the milk; and as the milk from each cow is brought in, it is weighed
and the amount set down opposite the cow's name on a "milk sheet," that
is tacked on the wall, near by. At the end of each week, the figures on
the milk sheet are added, and the farmer knows just how much milk each
cow is giving him, and w^hether there are any in the herd which are not
paying their board.

References — Elements of Agriculture, AVarren; Agriculture for
Beginners, Burkett, Stevens and Hill, p. 216; First Principles of Agricul-
ture, Vorhees, p. 117; Elements of Agriculture, Sever, p. 57; Ele-
ments of Agriculture, Shepperd, chapters 15 and 22; First Principles
of Agriculture, Goff and Maine, p. 154; Agriculture Through the
Laboratory, School and Garden, Jackson and Dougherty, chapter 8; The
Dairy Herd, Farmers' Bulletin No. 55, U. S. Dept. of Agr.; Care of Milk
on the Farm, Farmers' Bulletin No. 63, U. S. Dept. of Agr.

LESSON LXVIII
The Cow

Leading thought — Certain characteristics which enable the cow to live
successfully as a wild animal, have rendered her of great use to us as a
domestic animal.

Method — Begin the lesson with leading the pupils to understand the
peculiar adaptation of cattle for success, as wild animals. This will have
to be done largely by reading and asking for oral or written work on the
following topics: "The Aurochs," "Wild Cattle of the Scottish High-
lands," "The BufYaloes of the Orient," "The American Bison," "The
Cow-boys of the West and their Work with their Herds," "The Breeds of
Beef Cattle, Where they Came From, and Where Developed," "The
Breeds of Milch Cattle, their Origin and Names." The following ques-
tions may be given out a few at a time and answered as the pupils have
opportunity for observation.

Observations — i . W^hat are the characteristics of a fine cow? Describe
her horns, ears, eyes, nose and mouth. Do you think she can hear well?
What is the attitude of her ears when she is listening? Do you think she
has a keen sense of smell? Is hernose moist? Is her hair long or short?
Smooth or rough ?

2. The cow walks on two toes. Can you see any other toes which she
does not walk on ? Why is the cow's foot better adapted than that of the
horse, to walk in mud and marshes? What do we call the two hind toes
which she does not walk on? Can you point out on the cow's leg those
parts which correspond with our elbow, wrist, knee and ankle? Is the
cow a good runner? Is she a good jumper? Can she swim?

302 Handbook of Nature-Study

3. For what use was the cow's tail evidently intended? How do the
wild buffalos and bisons get rid of attacks of flies?

4. How much of cattle language do you understand? How does the
cow express pleasure? Lonesomeness? Anger? How does the bull
express anger? What does the calf express with the voice?

5. Is there always a leader in a herd of cows? Do certain cows of
the herd always go first and others last? Do the cows readily learn to
take each her own place in the stable? How is leadership of the herd
attained ? Describe cattle at play.

6. At what time of day do cattle feed in the pasture? When and
where do they chew the cud ? Do they stand or lie to do this? Describe
how a cow lies down and gets up.

7. How do wild cattle defend themselves from wolves? From bears
or other solitary animals?

8. For what purposes were cattle first domesticated? For how
many purposes do we rear cattle today?

9. Name and give brief descriptions of the different breeds of cattle
with which you are familiar. Which of these are beef and which milch
types?

10. What are the distinguishing points of a good milch cow? Of a
good beef animal? What does the food do for each of these? Which
part of the United States produces most beef cattle? Which the most
milch cattle?

1 1 . What do we mean by a balanced ration ? Do you know how to
compute one? What is the advantage of feeding cattle a balanced
ration ?

12. How many pounds of milk should a dairy cow produce in a year
to be profitable if the product is cheese? If the product is butter? Why
this discrepancy? What must be the percent, of butter fat in milk to
make it legally salable in your state? How many months of the year
should a good cow give milk?

13. Why should a cow be milked always by the same person ? Does
the milker always sit on the same side? Why should loud talking and
other noise at milking time be avoided? Should a dog be used in driving
dairy cows? Why?

14. Why is a cool draughty barn an expensive place in which to keep
cattle? Why is a barn not well-ventilated, a danger?

15. Why and where is the dehorning of cattle practiced? When and
how should a calf be dehorned?

16. Why should milk not be strained in the bam? Why is it profit-
able for the dairy farmer to keep his stable clean and to be cleanly in the
care of milk? How does the food of cows affect the flavor of the milk?
Why should a farmer keep a record of the number of pounds of milk which
each cow in his dairy gives each day?

17. For what are oxen used? Wherein are they superior to horses
as 'draft animals? Do you know of any place where oxen are used as
riding animals?

18. How many industries are dependent upon cattle?

19. Give oral or written exercises on the following themes : "How
the Best Butter is Made;" "The Use of Bacteria in Butter;" "How Dairy
Cheese is Made;" "How Fancy Cheeses are Made."

Mammal Study

3°2

THE PIG
Teacher's Story

"I uandcr through the underbresh,
Where pig tracks ptntiii' to'rds the crick,
Is picked and printed in the fresh
Black bottom-lands, like wimnien prick
Their pie-crust with a fork." — Rilev.

|Y a forest law of William the First of England in the
eleventh century, it was ordained that any that were
found guilty of killing the stag or the roebuck or the
wild boar, should have their eyes put out. This shows
that the hunting of the wild boar in England was
considered a sport of gentlemen in an age when nothing
was considered sport unless it was dangerous. The
wild hog of Europe is the ancestor of our common
domesticated breeds; although independent of these, the Chinese domes-
ticated their own wild species, even before the dawn of history.

The wild hog likes damp situations where it may wallow in the water
and mud; but it also likes to have, close by, woods, thicket or under-
brush, to which it can retire for rest and also when in danger. The stiff,
bristling hairs which cover its thick skin, are a great protection when it is
pushing through thorny thickets. When excited or angry, these bristles
rise and add to the fury of its appearance. Even in our own country,
the wild hogs of the South whose ancestors escaped from domestication,
have reverted to their original savagery, and are dangerous when infuri-
ated. The onlv recorded instance when our great national hunter, Theo-
dore Roosevelt, was forced ignominiously to climb a tree, was after he

Anxious for diniu^r.

304 Hmuibook of Nature-SUidy

had emptied his rifle into a herd of "javeHns," as the wild pigs of Texas
are called; the javelins are the peccaries, which are the American repre-
sentatives of the wild hog.

That the hog has become synonymous with filth is the result of the
influence of man upon this animal, for of all animals, the pig is naturally
the neatest, keeping its bed clean, often in the most discouraging and ill-
kept pens. The pig is sparsely clothed with bristles and hairs, which
yield it no protection from the attacks of flies and other insects. Thus it
is the pig, in order to rid itself of these pests, has learned to wallow in the
mud. However, this is in the nature of a mud bath, and is for the pur-
pose of keeping the body free from vermin. The wild hogs of India make
for themselves grass huts, thatched above and with doors at the sides,
whieh shows that the pig, if allowed to care for itself, understands well
the art of nest-building.

One of the most interesting things about a pig, is its nose; this is a
fleshy disc with nostrils in it and is a most sensitive organ of feeling; it
can select grain from chaff, and yet is so strong that it can root up the
ground in search for food. "Root" is a pig word, and was evidently
coined to describe the act of the pig when digging for roots; the pig's nose
is almost as remarkable as the elephant's trunk, and the pig's sense of
smell is very keen ; it will follow a track almost as well as a dog. There
are more instances than one of a pig being trained as a pointer for hunting
birds, and showing a keener sense of smell, and keener intelligence in
this capacity, than do dogs. French pigs are taught to hunt for truffles,
which are fungi growing on tree roots, a long way below the surface of the
ground; the pig detects their presence through the sense of smell.

The pig has a full set of teeth, having six incisors, two canines and
seven grinding teeth on each jaw; although in some cases there are only
four incisors on the upper jaw. A strange thing about a pig's teeth, is the
action of the upper canines, or tushes, which curve upward instead of
downward; the lower canines grind up against them, and are thus
sharpened. The females have no such development of upper tushes as
do the males; these tushes, especially the upper ones, are used as weapons;
with them, the wild boar slashes out and upward, inflicting terrible
wounds, often disabling horses and killing men. Professor H. F. Button
describes the fighting of hogs thus: "To oppose the terrible weapons of
his rival, the boar has a shield of skin over his neck and shoulders, which
may become two inches thick, and so hard as to defy a knife. When two
of these animals fight, each tries to keep the tushes of his opponent against
the shield, and to get his own tushes under the belly or flank of the other.
Thus, each goes sidewise or in circles, which has given rise to the expres-
sion, 'to go sidewise like a hog to war.' "

When, as a small girl, I essayed the difficult task of working button-
holes, I was told if I did not set my stitches more closely together, my
buttonhole would look like a pig's eye, a remark which made me observant
of that organ ever after. But though the pig's eyes are small, they cer-
tainly gleam with intelligence, and they take in all that is going on,
which may in any way affect his pigship.

The pig is the most intelligent of all the farm animals, if it is only given
a chance; it has excellent memory and can be taught tricks readily; it is
affectionate and will follow its master around like a dog. Anyone who
has seen a trained pig at a show picking out cards and counting, must

Mammal Study

305

grant that it has brains, although we stuff it so with fattening food, that
it does not have a chance to use its brain

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Full text of "Handbook of nature-study : for teachers and parents : based on the Cornell nature-study leaflets, with much additional material and many new illustrations"

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